


Masking Our Bruises

by Iwillbestrong97



Category: Fall Out Boy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mob, Drug Use, Illegal Activities, Minor Character Death, Multi, Sexual Content, Swearing, patrick stump/original character - Freeform, pete wentz/original character - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2019-09-02 03:45:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 35,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16778959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iwillbestrong97/pseuds/Iwillbestrong97
Summary: It shouldn’t have worked. But it did. Pete, Andy and Joe. Together they were deadly. They controlled the Chicago underground. Patrick is the new boss. Taking over the gang war that killed his brother, the former leader. The mob is his new family. Trust, secrets and brotherhood complicate things. How can they cope with their sins?





	1. Chapter 1

“Please, I’m begging you. I’ll do whatever you want, but you can’t kill him! He’s all I have!” The woman groveled at his feet, begging for the life of her worthless son. The two men held him fast, his face bloody. Dominic looked bored, fiddling around with his knife, hardly paying attention to the woman.

“Well maybe you should have thought of that before encouraging him to steal from us. Ya know, we’re a pretty generous group considering the state of this fucked up city.” He stood, hands resting in the pockets of his eight-hundred-dollar dress pants.

A knock came from the door and he frowned slightly. His guys knew better than to bother him during these interrogations. He signaled to his right hand-man who stood with a gun pointed at the crooks’ head.

He made his way to the door, paused a beat, before yanking it open and pointing the gun at the intruder. The new kid stood there, horrified. The boss was surprised he didn’t piss his pants. Of course, his little brother had never been that weak. He glared at the seventeen-year-old.

“What the fuck are you doing here? This better be fucking important.” He watched as Patrick gulped. He couldn’t show his soft side with these two little shits in the room. Otherwise he would never talk to Patrick like this. It burned his throat. Reminded him too much of the way their father treated them.

“Sorry boss, but the intelligence learned something.” Patrick stood stiff as a statue. There was a moment of silence.

“Well spit it out, Trick,” He snapped. He tried not to stumble over his words. Patrick was not cut out for this business. Dominic would make sure he never had to take over. Hell, he shouldn’t even be here now.

“The woman. She’s the wife of the Snakes leader.” A beat passed as the information settled on the room. Dom knew there was something off about this whole thing. He rolled his shoulders and turned back to the woman.

“So, what was the plan, eh? Where’s the camera? Gunna try and show my guys I’m weak? That I spared a crook cause his mommy pleaded for his life. Our rules are clear.” He called his right-hand man over once again. “Get rid of them both.” The woman began screaming.

“You’ll regret this! They will come after you! You will suffer! I’ll make sure of it!” One of the men holding her son pushed a gun to his head. The bang was quick, Dom hardly registered that it happened. That happens in this business. You get desensitized.

_Patrick_

He panicked. He might have been desensitized but Patrick wasn’t. He spun back to face his little brother. His face was blank, mouth open slightly. Tears pricked at the edges of his eyes.

“Get out of here, Trick. Right now.” He stood frozen, Staring at the scene in front of him. “Trick!” He jumped and began to back away slowly.

A thud came from behind the boss. The woman had fought her way to her son, and in doing so, stole the gun from his one of his men. Tears poured down her face as she aimed it.

“You will die.” She pulled the trigger just as his right-hand man did. She fell to the ground in a pool of blood.

The warmth spread through his body. He looked back at his brother, horror covering his face, tears flowing freely. He fell to his knees, pressing a hand to his stomach. He wouldn’t last long. Patrick was at his side, holding him up.

“You’re gunna be fine. Absolutely fine. Come on, don’t leave yet.” Patrick pressed a hand against his own. He attempted a smile.

“It’s alright, Trick. You’ll be alright. Just stay away from this business you got it? The boys will help you for a bit. But don’t you dare get more involved.”

His eyes began to drift shut. He could vaguely hear Patrick calling to him. He did everything he could. But such is the life in the mob.

-

**Six Years Later**

“What the fuck, Pete? I told you exactly what to get!”

“It’s not my fault you’re so god damn picky with your coffee!”

“You had a list! A list!”

Patrick groaned at their bickering. Why did he have to deal with this? There was actual important stuff that needed to get done.

“Would both of you shut up? Joe stop being an ungrateful shit and Pete pay attention for fucking once,” he scolded. They both straightened right away. Patrick placed his hat on the desk before running a hand through his hair.

He had only taken over recently. The rest of the members weren’t quite sure what to make of him. He only had to live up to his brother’s legacy. He involuntarily flinched as the memories raced across his mind. The gang had been left in charge of his brother’s right-hand man, Smyth.

His brother had been right though. They took care of him. Provided him with the funds he needed while finishing school. A major in business only made sense. But when he wasn’t in class, it was Smyth that taught him how this all worked.

Patrick made a promise to his brother at the burial. He would end this. He would end this war unless it ended him first.

He knew that his brother told him not to get involved. But what else did he have? His mom was killed in a gang related incident when he was young. His father was a fucking horror story. His brother was the last thing. And the gangs took him too.

“Yo, boss. Hey. Trick!” He looked up at Andy. Shit, he’d been day dreaming.

“What is it?” Andy held out the phone to him. A man of many words as always.

“Talk,” he snapped into the phone.

“Chill little guy. You don’t need to sound so scary.” Patrick cracked a grin. Smyth. He knew Patrick hated it when he called him that.

“Shut up. What is it?” There was a chuckled from the other end.

“I’m doing fine, thanks for asking. Honestly, I thought your brother taught you manners. Especially to those much older than you.” Patrick’s smile faltered slightly.

“Stop acting like you’re some sixty-year-old geezer. You’re thirty-eight.”

“Yea, yea. Anyway. There’s rumors on the street that are calling attention to you. Young boss means you’ve got a lot of reputation building to do. You should meet with your guys and lay down some rules. We’ve been following your brothers’ rules but you’re the boss now. As much as both I and your brother are against it.”

Patrick glanced over at his inner circle. You can’t see it, but under the nice jackets, each held a gun. They all knew how to wild a knife and all knew how to shake someone down. Patrick opened his desk drawer to see the small revolver he had there. He knew how to fire it. Could hit a target without even blinking.

“Got it. Call a meeting.”

“You got it, Boss.” A few seconds of silence. “I got your back, kid,” Smyth said, almost gently.

Before Patrick could let his emotions get to him, he hung up the phone. The three guys in the room looked at him expectantly. They trusted him and he trusted them.

He had known Pete the longest. Both of their families were part of the high ranks of The Overcast. Pete’s family in it much longer than Patrick’s but they were respectful and trusting when his brother took over. They were friends and Pete was the one who helped him through his brother’s death the most.

Joe was friends with Pete but his family moved back to Chicago recently. Patrick’s first interaction with Joe involved Patrick telling him how much he sucked at shooting. That ended up with a gun pointed at Patrick’s head but then knocking it away. He later discovered that the safety was on. It was a test to see how he responded. Joe never doubted him after that. He also didn’t hesitate to call Patrick out when he thought he was being a dumbass.

Andy was the strong and silent type. He didn’t say much but was brought back by Joe. There was some uneasiness at first but he had done his job well many times. He helped keep Pete and Joe from arguing and honestly that was enough for Patrick. They might have been friends but god did they argue.

“What’s the story?” Patrick looked between the only people he could really call his friends.

“New rules. I’ve been doing this with the help of my brother and Smyth so far. Now it’s time for me to put my foot down. You have been the ones to stand by me so far. It would mean a lot if that continued.”

A moment of silence before Andy raised his hand with the back facing away from him. A smiled threatened to come out as the other two guys raised their hands too. It was their symbol. Patrick joined the other three and they all pressed the backs of their hands together. A chuckle resonated through the group as they all hugged. No one but them would see or know about this.

-

Quiet voices filled the small auditorium. It wouldn’t fit more than fifty people. The leaders of the different sections milled about. Some snickering, never having seen their new boss. Patrick expected that kind of reaction. You have to build a name for yourself in this business. He had to be prepared to do that.

“Heard the kid can hardly hold a gun. Some shit about seeing his brother get shot messing him up.”

“Dude. He was young. That would fuck any kid up.”

“I been seeing that shit since I was ten. Maybe he just needs to get a backbone.”

“Keep talkin. Don’t be pissed at me when he puts a knife to your throat for questioning him.”

Patrick ignored the banter. Maybe he should do that. But it was his brothers’ policy to never raise a weapon against your own. Patrick stood by that sentiment at least.

He stepped up onto the small stage. People immediately went quiet. He took note of the questioning glances he was receiving. Some weren’t sure if he was the right-hand-man or the boss. He took a breath, hoping no one could tell how nervous he was.

“My brother didn’t have a chance to tell me what his policies were before he was murdered before my eyes. I only have second hand knowledge from Smyth, his right-hand-man who has been running this thing for the past six years.

“Now, I see the looks on your faces and I know that some of you are skeptical. But I hope you can extend the same trust to me as you did my brother. I know what my brothers’ legacy is and I know what his rules were. But I’m taking the lead now.” He paused a moment to try and read everyone’s faces. They were all listening intently so far.

“First of all. Stay the fuck away from minors. They don’t need this shit.” A small murmur of approval. “Second. Don’t any of you touch the meth or any sort of equivalent. I will not tolerate that kind of poison. I’m working us out of that business so don’t go setting us back.” Less approval this time.

“So where do you suggest we make up that lost revenue?” Patrick recognized the voice from before. The ass hat that had no consideration for a child watching his family die. He was going to be a problem. Patrick crossed his arms and stared the guy down.

“Why don’t you try doing something beneficial for the community that you seem so intent on running into the ground. My brother wanted to fix the community. Not destroy it. The point was to get rid of the other gangs so Chicago is safer. If you don’t believe in that idea then I will personally escort you out.” The room was deadly quiet. The guy didn’t say anything at first. Then he scoffed.

“You haven’t the slightest idea what your brother wanted, kid. And you will never be him.” Patrick didn’t even blink. The comment hurt but now was not the time to grieve.

He hopped down from the stage. The crowd of people parted for him. No one in the room dared to breathe. He stopped in front of the intimidating man. Patrick wasn’t very tall which made being a leader harder than it needed to be. The guys eyes flickered off of him for a second. Patrick assumed Joe, Andy and Pete had made themselves known.

“Rule three!” Patrick called loudly so everyone could hear. “Do not raise a weapon against one of your own. That rule still stands.” The silence was deafening. Patrick refused to break eye contact. Eventually, the jack ass standing in front of him broke. He turned away and crossed his arms. Patrick had won this one.

“Your name,” Patrick said. The guy raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Well don’t just stand there and stare at me. What’s your name?”

“Bult,” he spit out.

“Full name.” He glared at Patrick.

“Vinn Bult. The fuck you trying to prove?” Patrick sighed.

“Well if you’re gunna make problems for me and everyone else then I want this to be personal.” He ignored the look of anger that passed over Vinn’s face. Patrick made his way back to the stage. The people moved out of his way much quicker.

“Rule four! Any new alliances are to go through me first. I am in the middle of reviewing all alliances made in the past six years. I will cut off any that I think are harmful to the group. Five, don’t fuck with law enforcement. We have a relatively peaceful agreement with them. But I know which districts have been causing problems.” Patrick took a breath. “Dismissed for now. Anything else I deem to be a problem will be handled by either me or my guys and you will be informed promptly.”

Everyone stood still for a moment before filtering out almost silently. Patrick stood and watched them leave. He caught sight of Vinn again. He was glaring at Patrick and mumbling something to another guy who didn’t seem interested. Patrick wondered if this was the guy Dom and Smyth were always complaining about back then. Pete came to stand next to him.

“When you get the chance, get me any information you can find on our friend Vinn Bult,” Patrick said as the last of the people filed out. Joe came up on his other side.

“You want us to keep an eye on him, too,” Joe asked.

“Maybe pay him a little visit,” Andy added. Patrick shook his head and turned to them.

“Keep your distance for now. I don’t need to release the trio from hell on him just yet. I just think we should be cautious is all.”

-

Smyth watched the four young men from the door. They were all so innocent. They had no idea what they were getting themselves into. Least of all Patrick. He was the youngest of all of them. Smyth had tried to steer him away from the Mobs of Chicago and this stupid war.

At least they had noticed Bult. He had always been sketchy, even when Dom was running things. Patrick was nothing like his brother. He doubted Patrick could really do anything to end the decades long feud.

Smyth made his way over to the small group. He knew he had to back up Patrick. Protect him. That was the one thing Dom had told him to do if he ever kicked the bucket. Protect him from everything he didn’t need to know in order to be the boss.

“Hey, kid. Why don’t I take you out do some of your new businesses?” Smyth slapped Patrick on the back.

“I’ll get to that eventually. I still have to go through some paperwork,” He said, shrugging.

“Come on, boss! You seriously need to unwind or something,” Pete encouraged. Smyth chuckled at the banter. And for once he agreed with Pete.

The guys bickered back and forth, all of them trying to convince Patrick to, “have some goddam fun” in Joe’s words. They were still teenagers in some sense. At least that’s what they looked like right now. Smyth rolled his eyes and injected himself into the conversation by grabbing Patrick’s arm.

“Let’s go. I agree with the young people in the vicinity. Chill for a bit why don’t you?” Patrick grumbled as he yanked his arm away and followed Smyth. The other guys in a tow behind him.

-

Patrick looked around the ally. Trash littered the edges of the buildings. A homeless person sat huddled in the corner. He couldn’t quite tell if it was a guy or girl because of all the jackets they had. He sent Andy across the street to buy a couple burgers from McDonalds for the person.

“You can’t help everyone, Patrick,” Smyth muttered to him. His brother had pointed that out to him several times.

“Maybe not, but I can try.” Smyth shook his head as he pounded his fist against the metal door.

“I will never understand why you decided you wanted to get into this business. You’re good to a fault, Trick.” Patrick raised an eyebrow at him but didn’t have time to respond before the door opened.

“What do you want?” A huge muscled guy blocked the door. He was easily six-four and covered in tattoos. Patrick was used to the tattoos because of the other three guys being covered in them. Perhaps it was just the height thing.

“Depends, do you wanna meet your boss tonight?” The guy scoffed.

“Please, I heard he was a puny, overconfident shit.” Patrick watched the muscles in Smyth’s back tense. Perhaps Patrick didn’t make as good of an impression as he thought. He pulled Smyth back and stepped up to the giant.

“Depends who you hear it from I guess.” The guy looked down at Patrick and tried to contain his laughter. So, this was how it was going to be.

“Get out of here, kid. Runts like you don’t belong here. Careful Smyth, I tell the actual boss you’re trying to get kids into a strip club.” The guy shoved Patrick back, hard enough that he stumbled. Patrick sighed.

There were instantly three guns all trained on the giant man. He froze, but only for a moment. He was trained to deal with these situations after all. Patrick smoothed his jacket and pulled his wallet out.

“I’m not offended that you think I’m underage. You’re not the first. But I would appreciate it if you didn’t insult my guys by thinking they would try to undermine my rules.” Patrick flashed his ID at the guy and made a show of putting his wallet back. In the pocket next to his gun. The guys eyes widened for a fraction of a second. Then he refused to look at him.

“Alright boys, stop freaking the nice man out.” Pete, Joe, and Andy took the guns off him. He stepped to the side, letting them all pass without another word. Patrick was the last to enter and he stopped in front of the bouncer. Patrick didn’t even open his mouth before the guy tried to rush out an apology.

“I’m sorry, boss. Won’t happen again. I should have known better.” Patrick paused a moment, then pat the bouncer on the arm.

“Mind telling me who passed that information along?” Patrick rested his hands in his pockets, patiently waiting while he thought.

“I didn’t know him. Seen him hanging around with your guy Vinn. Course he wasn’t here with him.” Made enough sense. Patrick nodded and handed the bouncer a fifty.

“You’re doing your job well. Keep it up. Let your manager know I’m here.” He nodded quickly and radioed for someone just called “V.”

Patrick followed his friends to a booth. Not in front of any of the stages but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t looking. Some whistling came from a stage off to the side. Dollars fluttered about a girl. She would have been less provocative naked.

She was bathed in a red light. She danced about the pole in the center, dropping low and biting her lip at the crowd of older men. Patrick was mildly disgusted but this was her job. And she wouldn’t have it if it weren’t for the old rich guys who were for some reason unsatisfied with their wife. Her skirt could hardly be called that, pleated and not even covering h.er ass. She turned away and he saw a tattoo snaking its way down her spine, dipping into the cloth around her hips. Anything else she wore was lace.

Patrick shook himself out of the daze and hurried over to the table. Pete grinned at him. Patrick glared, trying to stop the comment before it even left his mouth. No such luck.

“Aren’t you glad we made you come out?”

“Shut up, Pete.”

They ordered their drinks and sat chatting. The thumping bass seemed to keep time with his pulse. Patrick had a hard time keeping his attention away from the stage where he saw that dancer. He had never been to a strip club before. He shook his head at himself. Was he a fucking sixteen-year-old or something?

“I’m just saying you should practice more. You can’t throw a punch for shit. Why do you think Andy does that?” Joe glared at Pete.

“And you should learn to shoot straight! Oh wait…” Pete had come out to them as bisexual a while back. None of them cared but that made for jokes that weren’t always appreciated.

“Hey, watch it,” Patrick scolded, but he was chuckling slightly. It could have been worse.

Smyth nudged Patrick. He looked over to where Smyth was looking. His breath almost caught in his throat. The girl from earlier was making her way over to the table. She had changed though. Jeans and a tank top. She stopped at the head of the table.

“So, which of you wanted to see me?” Patrick could have fallen over. This was V? He just never thought of a woman owning a strip club. He supposed that was why the bouncer did his job so well. He knew women who took no shit. This one was definitely one of them. Patrick stood, trying to not stare. He offered his hand. She looked down at it and then raised an eyebrow.

“You’re V, right?” She nodded hesitantly.

“Yea, what do you need?”

“My name is Patrick Stump.” There was a beat as recognition passed over her face. The look of indifference replaced it soon enough.

“Ok? What do you need?” Patrick blinked and he heard snickering behind him. He sighed but he intended for it to be silent. She caught it anyway. “Sorry, am I supposed to call you ‘boss’ or something? I don’t really roll like that.” Patrick tried to keep the smile off his face.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just passing through. Familiarizing myself with our various… Businesses.” She nodded in understanding. She glanced behind him.

“So, which one is the ‘right hand?’ Or am I not allowed to know for security reasons?” Patrick shrugged.

“They all kind of are.” _I wouldn’t be able to do this without them._ He added mentally.

“Well they can’t all come along if you want a tour or something. Gotta keep my promise to the girls. No guys allowed in the back.” She rested her hands on her hips.

“I get it. Wasn’t here for a tour but if—”

“—If you’re offering, he would love a tour.” Patrick thanked whatever god there was that the lights were dimmed enough so she couldn’t see the blush. Pete was trying to keep his laugh under control. Patrick cursed him. He looked down at Smyth and he shrugged.

“Welp, follow me then. I can send one of our girls over here if you’d like?” Patrick’s three friends agreed excitedly. He tried to stop from rolling his eyes. Of course, he couldn’t judge them.

“You better behave, and tip her well, got it,” Patrick lectured. There was a chorus of “yeah” and “got it.” Patrick hurried after V.

“Hey Nat, if you’re feeling up to it, head over to table thirteen,” she said into a headpiece. They made their way to the bar. She pushed open the door to the kitchen and greeted the cooks. “Hey guys! Boss man is here!” They all looked up at Patrick, they waved or said some other greeting but didn’t pay much attention otherwise.

There was another door leading to a small office area. She bounced up to sit on her desk as Patrick looked around the small space. A laptop and a stack of papers sat on the desk. Not much different from his office back at headquarters.

“Ya, know I should kick you out for bringing guns in here. I’m sure you saw the sign. Also, try to not threaten my bouncer in the future. I don’t take kindly to that.” She leaned back on her hands, relaxed.

“Sorry, bout that. Won’t happen again.” A moment of silence. “I’m happy to see someone running a legit establishment. Can you pay your cooks well?” She scoffed at him.

“Of course, I can. What kind of owner do you take me for? This is a _sex_ industry Mr. Stump. Just because you got in for free doesn’t mean those old guys gawking at our girls do.” He raised his hands in surrender.

“I have a question though,” Patrick said. Maybe she knew Vinn and his buddies. She encouraged him to go on.

“Do you know anyone by the name of Vinn Bult? Or anyone who associates with him?” She gripped the edge of the desk.

“We have a policy to not reveal the names of paying customers,” she said. That wasn’t a no. Patrick ran a hand through his hair.

“Well, he’s spreading rumors. And I’d like to keep those to a minimum if I can. Don’t need an uprising that would require force and bloodshed to squash.” She clenched her jaw.

“I get it. I’ll see what I can do.” The silence following was awkward. Something wasn’t right. But she clearly wasn’t going to give him any information now.

“Well, if you don’t mind me asking, why do you dance? I saw you when I walked in.” She released a breath, relieved the previous conversation was over. The spark returned to her eyes.

“Why? Does that make me a bad business owner? Just because I strip for men I don’t know? Because they throw money at me?” She jumped off the desk and stood in front of him, her heals making her slightly taller, of course that wasn’t hard. She was daring him to challenge her. Patrick smiled and shook his head.

“That wasn’t what I was suggesting at all. Simply curious.”

“Besides, you were watching, right? I must be good at my job.” Patrick cleared his throat and broke eye contact with her. Shit.

She stepped away from him and moved to a cabinet in the corner. She pulled out a glass and poured herself a glass of whiskey. Patrick didn’t recognize the brand. He had never seen it in stores of any kind. She glanced at him over the glass.

“Oh, sorry, did you want some?” Patrick shook his head.

“I can assume all the girls you hire are over eighteen, right? And here of their own free will?” V shot another glare at him.

“Again, what kind of company do you think I’m running? Yes. All at least twenty-one actually. Considering we sell alcohol. All here of their own volition.”

“Just things I need to ask. I’m trying to clean up the city, not make it worse.”

“So, I’ve heard. I admire that. Good luck with that—” She was cut off by dishes shattering. Patrick turned and rushed out to the main room. There were patrons huddled in against the wall. Patrick noticed the masked person holding a gun to a dancer’s head. Tears streamed down her face.

Patrick immediately looked for his group. They had their guns trained on the intruder, but the dancer was in the way.

“No one move, or she dies! I got a message for the little boss.” Patrick glared at the guy but he didn’t move. “Say something you coward! Let me know you’re here.” Patrick still didn’t move in the hopes he would just leave. The masked man sighed and shifted his gun, pointing it at a bartender. Patrick jumped but couldn’t reach her fast enough. She fell to the floor, shoulder bleeding. The guy was either a terrible shot, or he was baiting. He propped the girl up and V rushed over to help stop the bleeding.

“They don’t know what you look like yet. Don’t say a word,” She mumbled to him.

“More people are going to be hurt if I don’t speak up.”

“We don’t need to go through another loss like we did with, Dom,” she scolded.

“Let’s go, pipsqueak. Heard you were noble and shit. Don’t want anyone else to get hurt now.” Patrick grit his teeth. V shook her head.

“What do you want?” Patrick’s eyes widened at Smyth’s voice. He went to stand but V yanked him back down.

“You? I was promised a funny sight when I saw the new leader,” the masked man sneered.

“Shame you think I’m not good enough for you.”

“I’m amazed you were stupid enough to speak up” A gun fired and Patrick flinched. He shook V off and jumped up in time to see Smyth fall to the floor, clutching his leg. Andy rushed to break his fall.

“Now that I have your attention. You better give up this nice little establishment over to the Snakes and everything south of it. That won’t be too hard now will it?” The masked man shoved the girl away from him and ran out. A beat passed before all hell broke loose. The girls that had been dancing rushed over to help their coworker.

“Smyth!” Patrick had to restrain himself from jumping over the bar. _Not again. Not again. Not again._ The lone thought raced through his head. He fell to his knees next to Smyth. The bullet looked like it was lodged in his leg. They needed a doctor.

“Chill, kid. No use getting teary over me.” He tried to joke but the humor was lost with his grimace. Patrick wasn’t even aware his eyes had formed tears. Nothing fell but he wiped at his eyes furiously.

“You idiot! Why’d you do that?”

“Promised your brother I’d keep you safe.” Patrick looked around the room, V was busy escorting people out, offering free entry the next time they came.

“I’m supposed to be protecting you guys! I’m the boss and this war is my responsibility damnit,” Patrick scolded. Smyth’s face scrunched in pain. He would worry about the lecturing later. He called over to V as she shooed the last patron out.

“Call an ambulance!” She shook her head and hurried over to them instead.

“Not enough time. Losing blood too fast,” Joe informed him. Patrick grit his teeth.

“One of you ditch your shirt. We need to cut off circulation.” A moment passed before Andy had taken his jacket off and handed it to V. She wrapped it around his leg as Patrick applied pressure to the wound. V pointed at Pete.

“Now call the ambulance. And someone get something so we can elevate his leg. I’m going to see if I can get the bullet out myself.” Joe and Andy shared a look. “I went to nursing school now hurry up and move!” Joe jumped up and grabbed a few pillows.

Smyth groaned in pain as they maneuvered him so he was laying down. V pulled out a utility knife and cut a hole in his pants. She tried her best to be gentle around the wound but she could hardly touch it without him flinching or hissing in pain.

“For fucks sake, someone knock him out,” she complained. She moved around the hole again. Patrick watched as Smyth bit his lip to stay quiet. V watched his face occasionally as she looked around the hole. “Alright. I should be able to get it out. It’s not that deep.” She switched her utility knife from scissors to tweezers. “Someone go get the hundred-proof vodka.” Pete rushed to grab it. “This might hurt. I’m sorry.”

She poured a bit on the tweezers and then over the wound. Smyth squeezed Patrick’s hand to keep from crying out. She dug around, but not for long, she pulled the small bullet out and dropped it on the floor. Smyth was sweating and his eyes were squeezed shut.

The paramedics came rushing in, a stretcher prepared. They lifted Smyth carefully. They acknowledged the work V had done to prevent him from bleeding too much. Patrick watched as they wheeled him out. Blood covered his hands and when he looked down at them, he felt sick.

It almost happened again. Because he was too much of a coward to stand up and face the Snakes pawn by himself. V was handing him a towel. He took it hesitantly. The group stood around him, as if waiting for some sort of direction.

“Not your fault, you know,” V said quietly. The guys nodded in agreement but Patrick couldn’t think like that.

“But it is. I told myself that I wouldn’t let anyone else that I care about die. At least, not from this stupid war. I’m going to end it. And I’m going to start with this deal those fucking Snakes think they can hold over me.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for being a slow writer. Hope you enjoy!

Patrick paced about his office. He had to figure out how to address the threat made by the Snakes. He certainly wasn’t going to give it over to them. That would be too much territory. The little club was one of the farthest west they controlled. Ending just before Douglas Park and extending south until Englewood.

Patrick ran a hand through his hair. Maybe he should move on their territory. Englewood was known to have gang related violence problems. Perhaps if he moved his guys in, they could get it under control. Of course, he had no idea what they planned to do if he didn’t give up V’s club.

There was a knock at the door. He sighed and moved to open it. Joe stood on the other side. Patrick looked around for the other guys but didn’t see them. He stepped to the side to let Joe pass. It was strange for him to come alone.

“What’s up? Something happen?” Joe shrugged and wandered to sit behind the desk.

“Seemed like you had something to talk about with all that pacing you were doing. Try not to carve a rut into the floor.” Patrick rolled his eyes.

“Ya know, if you don’t have anything useful to say…” Patrick trailed off. Joe shifted some papers around on the desk.

“I just came to see what you were thinking about. You have a tendency to not tell anyone anything.” Patrick shrugged his suit jacket off and tossed it on a nearby chair. “Need some advice?” Joe sighed when he didn’t respond.

“What happened to Smyth was not your fault. He made that choice to protect you, just like Andy, Pete, and I would.” Patrick clenched his fists. There was that stupid ‘not your fault’ thing again.

“I really wish everyone would stop saying that,” he mumbled.

“Oh, stop feeling sorry for yourself!” Joe stood suddenly. “Get your shit together, Trick. You’re the boss. These things happen sometimes. But you gotta figure out how to work things through. You can’t just bail.” Joe stood across from him, arms crossed. Patrick was surprised. He hadn’t had the gift of being lectured by Joe recently.

“There’s a group out there that wants your head. If you don’t make a stand for your territory then what’s the fucking point? Threaten them back, Trick! Get a hold of Englewood! I’m sure you even figured out that much.” Joe may as well have been shaking his shoulders.

“Yea, I got it. But it’s not like we can just march in there and start shooting. We don’t even know what they plan to do if I don’t give up the territory.”

“Let’s assume murder? That’s generally the type of path they take.” A short pause. “Let me and the other two go in there. We know a bar in Englewood that’s close to the boarder. We get that under our control, the people won’t have to deal with those damn Snakes anymore.”

“You say it like that and it doesn’t sound much better.” Joe rolled his eyes.

“Your choice, boss. But at least with you running things, they’ll have a chance to rebuild.” Patrick thought for a moment. They were his friends and he didn’t want them hurt, too. But they had received the name ‘trio from hell’ for a reason. Patrick sighed, then nodded.

“Alright. I’ll inform our groups near that area in case of retaliation.” Patrick caught the almost giddy smile he tried to hide. The three of them were scary enough to make a chill run down Patrick’s spine. Joe made his way toward the door.

“Hey,” Patrick called. “If any of you don’t come back, I will raise you from the dead and kill you myself.” Joe chuckled.

“Understood.” He gave a half salute and left. Patrick glanced out the window. He prayed that he wasn’t wrong about this move.

-

The three boys sat in their car on the border of Englewood. The neon sign was visible but just barely. It flickered constantly, letting them know of the poor funding this bar was getting. The Snakes weren’t taking care of their property. That left this place wide open for invasion.

“You guys ready,” Pete said, loading his gun.

“Always,” Joe replied. Pete looked over to Andy who just nodded as he played with the knife in his hand. He carried but didn’t use it that often. Andy was like a last resort type of guy. Silent and watching. The best back up the other two could ever ask for.

The sun set over the horizon, painting the sky a deep blue and purple. Pete stepped out of the car, sticking his gun in the holster hidden by his jacket. They looked around and couldn’t see any threats.

The three of them sauntered into the bar, fake laughing about some fake joke. No one paid them much mind, at least from what they could tell. They took their spots at the bar. Only Joe and Pete ordered. Andy was never into the drinking.

“What can I git ya’ll?” The woman behind the bar looked tired. She seemed to be hoping for a simple evening. Pete’s heart ached. He remembered living on the wrong side. It could be awful.

“I’ll just take whatever beer is the special,” Pete said smiling at the woman.

“I second that,” Joe added. She nodded and looked over to Andy.

“What about you, Sweets?”

“Water. If you don’t mind.” She hurried away to grab the glasses. Pool balls cracked from the other side of the room. Joe glanced over his shoulder. He noticed a tattoo poking out from the collar of the guy shooting. He looked over the small group of guys. One of them didn’t wear a jacket so he could see the tattoo clearly.

An open-mouthed viper with blood gracing its teeth is hard to miss.

Joe cursed under his breath. They were going to make this difficult. He nudged Pete and Andy. He opened his mouth but the woman returned with their drinks. Pete handed the woman a twenty. She looked down at it with surprise.

“Keep the change,” he lowered his voice, “do me a favor and hide out in the back for a bit.” The woman looked confused for a second. Pete rolled up his sleeves, flashing the small volcano tattoo on his wrist. She glanced behind them. She clearly knew this was an invasion. She leaned in close.

“You intend to kick them out? You boys best understand you’re cleaning up the blood.” She stood and headed through the door to the kitchen. The three of them shared a look and stood. They made their way over to the pool table.

“Hey, we got next,” Pete called. Six pairs of eyes trained on them. One of them shifted. Pete’s eyes zeroed in on the seventh person. A young girl sat stiff, next to who he could only assume was the designated leader. She was clearly uncomfortable. She couldn’t be older than sixteen. Patrick’s rule stuck out in his mind. She didn’t need to be part of this.

“And why should we let you use _our_ pool table?” A cigarette hung out of the speaker’s mouth. Joe shrugged.

“I don’t know, cause we asked nicely?” The group of guys laughed sarcastically. Clearly, they weren’t impressed with his sarcasm.

“You kids gotta be new round here. Allow me to explain the rules.” The assumed leader stood and the three of them had to look up. He was easily over six feet. The girl he was sitting with looked away, squeezing her eyes shut. She knew how these things ended.

“First of all, we are the Snakes. You don’t order us around. Second, if you’re breathing, it’s because we allow it. But right now, ur in real serious danger of losin’ that gift.” The other people had moved far away from the group. Some even left. That was probably for the best.

“All this for a pool table? You guys need to chill or something,” Pete trailed off. The guy grabbed his shirt.

“The fuck you tryna start, pipsqueak?” Pete sighed.

“I’d recommend you put me down. We just wanted to use the pool table. This is our territory now.” Joe pulled out his gun in a matter of seconds and had it locked on the leader. The bar fell silent.

“Quite frankly, you’re all pretty dense. Can’t even tell when you’re fucked,” Joe mentioned. They were pushing it. As far as they knew, these guys didn’t have guns but knives were a completely different story.

“You little shits are from that north side gang ain’t ya? Didn’t ya get the message? You’re just asking for people to die,” one of them said.

“That’s why we’re here. North Englewood is ours now. And you’re leaving both this area and the one you threatened to steal. Why don’t you send that news to your boss? We’ve got reserves all over.”

“Fat chance of that you prick!” The leader shoved Pete back and reached into his pocket, whipping out a knife. Pete knew it. No way would they be unarmed.

Joe adjusted his aim slightly and fired. The bullet lodged itself in the leader’s arm and he yelped in pain. Blood seeped from the wound. The three of them put some distance between them and the other gang. If they could maintain it, they would win.

Knives appeared in the Snakes hands. Some were bigger than others. Andy glanced over his shoulder to make sure they weren’t jumped from behind.

“Stop it! Let’s just go! Please!” The three guys all looked over to the girl in the back. Tears rolled down her face. She grabbed the hand of the leader.

“Shut up. There’s no backing down now. You want to be a weak little thing then go. Run away.” The guys shared a look before Joe spoke.

“I’d listen to the girl. At least she’s smart.” Pete nodded along.

“Yea, and we’d rather not get her involved in this.”

“Threatening my girl now? You’re all gunna die.” The group jumped at them but they were clumsy. Only one looked like he actually knew how to wield a knife. Most swung blindly and the three Overcasts jumped out of the way easily.

Pete grabbed his gun out of the holster. He aimed at the leg of the guy closest to him. Avoid killing people if he could. That’s what Patrick always said. Pete admired the guy but sometimes he wondered if he really understood what this was.

The guy winced but was still stumbling toward them. Pete fired a second shot to the other leg and he finally went down. The blood didn’t bother him anymore, having seen so much of it.

The guy laying on the ground had his eyes screwed shut in pain. When another lunged he simply kicked the guy on the ground, causing him to cry out. Some brotherhood they were. The other guy was able to graze Pete along his arm. The cut wasn’t deep but it stung. Pete moved to fire but his shooting arm was no longer steady. He fired but missed the guy entirely.

“Shit,” he hissed.

“Down,” Andy called. Pete curled up and Andy fired a couple shots through the guys shoulders. He stumbled forward and Pete tripped him. He hit his head against a table and laid still on the ground. Pete wondered briefly if he was dead but shuffled over to Andy once he realized he didn’t care.

“Thanks for having my back dude.” Andy nodded and reloaded his gun. There was no time for appreciation right now.

Joe held his own against two other guys. They tried to circle him but he was too fast. They would jump one at a time and made it painfully easy for him to avoid their attacks. He fired a shot into the hip of one guy, sending him down

Before he had time to register, the other guy had a knife to his neck. It pressed against him firmly, pricking the skin.

“Whatcha gunna do now boy? Don’t exactly got many options. It’s either die or die.” The guy cackled, pressing the knife against him harder. Joe tried dropping his weight, but he still held on. Pete and Andy watched with caution. They knew Joe could get out of this.

“If I only have one option then why am I still alive? Seems like false advertisement to me. If you’re gunna threaten someone, at least follow through.” Joe considered that it might be a bad time to be a smart ass, but he had a feeling this guy was bluffing. The blade pricked his skin, sending a drop of blood sliding down his neck. Joe tried not to flinch.

“I ain’t ever met a kid so eager to die.” He couldn’t disarm the guy. Not with his weapon pressed against his throat.

“Some people would consider death a sweet gift. I am no exception,” Joe said, keeping up his joking manner. He just needed to get the knife even an inch away. This could backfire horribly and he knew it. But the more time passed, the harder it would be for this guy to go through with the threat.

The guy faltered slightly, showing concern for another human. It was only a moment but it was all Joe needed. He moved away from the knife and shoved him back. He brought his knee up between his legs as hard as he could. The guy stumbled and then crumbled to the ground. Joe lifted his gun and pointed it at the guy’s head, ready to pull if the need were to arise.

“Stop it! This is senseless! Why are you trying to kill each other?” This girl was back, tears stained her face. But the fear was replaced with anger. She stood in between Joe and the guy on the ground. Pete watched the girl. She wasn’t as much of a victim as he thought. She did choose to be here.

“Killing is never our favorite thing to do. We avoid it if we can. That doesn’t mean we won’t protect ourselves… Or others.” Pete spoke slowly, trying to determine if she was baiting them.

“Why do you want so much territory? This whole thing is stupid. Just leave each other alone!” The leader had pulled himself together and he stiffly stepped next to her. He draped an arm around her, smearing blood on her clothes.

“I told you, babe, it’s for our safety. Honor.” She smacked his arm away, turning her wrath towards him.

“What is honorable about killing people? I’ve never been in more danger than when I’m with you. I can’t take it! I want no part of this!” She spun towards the Overcasts. “Move.” She moved toward them, as they stood between her and the door.

The leader grabbed her before she could get too far. He pulled out his knife and held it against her neck. The blood dripped down and fear took over her face.

“You think you can just leave me you bitch? You know too much. You’re a liability now. So, you gotta die babe. Such a waist of a good body.” The guys jumped, no longer concerned with their safety. They needed to get her away from him.

Pete aimed a punch where the leader was hit earlier. Joe pointed his gun at his head, and Andy reached for the girl. The leader flinched when Pete hit him but never loosened his grip on the girl. He tisked.

“Don’t get too excited. It’s not my fault your little boss don’t know how to deal with loose ends.”

“Let her go. She doesn’t deserve to be covered in blood. She’s far too young for this shit. And you’re disgusting for bringing her into this.” He cackled.

“This bitch ain’t as innocent as she looks. How old are you babe? Twenty or something?” She struggled in his grip but it was difficult for her to move with a knife against her throat. The guys shared a look. Would Patrick really want them to spare this waste of space?

-

Patrick tapped his fingers on his desk. This was taking too long. He should have heard from them by now. Pete told him not to call but what was he supposed to do? What if they were in some sort of trouble and he was just sitting around waiting for information? That wasn’t how he wanted to do things.

He grabbed his phone and clicked to Pete’s contact. His finger hovered over the call button. Joe promised him that they would take care of it. He shouldn’t have let them go alone. They were his best friends. He basically sent them to die. Not that he didn’t trust them to do their job but what kind of man would he be if he just left them there.

“Don’t even think about it, kid.” Smyth hobbled in on crutches. “The last thing those guys need is you storming in there while they do their job.”

“They should be back by now.” Patrick tentatively set his phone back on the table.

“Just trust them. They said they would call so give ‘em a chance.” He moved a chair to help Smyth sit down.

“I don’t want to see anyone else get hurt on my behalf.” He laughed and shook his head.

“Look kid, if you didn’t want that then you signed up for the wrong position.” Patrick glared at him. Was it so wrong that he didn’t think people should be dying for him? The phone rang out through the room. Patrick jumped a bit but rushed over anyway. The number wasn’t one he recognized. He answered and slowly lifted the phone to his ear.

“Hello?” There was a heavy sigh and a chuckle from the other end of the phone.

“You certainly don’t sound like a forty-year-old. Somethin’ tells me you was hiding back in that little bar.” Patrick gripped the phone.

“Who is this and how did you get this number?” He tried to keep his voice steady. Something was not right.

“Well I ain’t gunna rat on the people that get me my information. I offered you a deal in that little strip club. I want your answer before I blow up all your little friends. The right answer might spare them.” Patrick ground his teeth. _Fucking hell._

“Look. Why don’t we have a conversation face to face. Ya know, like actual people.” He spoke slowly, thinking that it might help somehow. The voice snorted.

“Yea why don’t we just go out for a cup of coffee and a sandwich? Sounds like a damn dream. Fucking northsider, you really are stupid.” He could imagine the guy shaking his head. “Your little trio took out my guys. That’s not exactly polite. Course I guess they did save my baby sister. Never did like that guy. They were expendable. More a liability than anything.” He continued on like he wasn’t discussing people’s lives.

Patrick paced about the room and ran a hand through his hair. He had never met someone who had such a disregard for life. He glanced at Smyth.

“Don’t you dare cave. Your guys are deadly.” Patrick took a breath and nodded at him in thanks. Smyth was right. He needed to trust his friends. He kept them close for a reason.

“How about I make you a different offer,” Patrick said. He needed to choose his words carefully. He had reserves all around that bar but didn’t want to make the snake bite.

“For someone who tries to put humanity on a pedestal, you sure seem eager to watch people die. That ain’t how deals work,” he scoffed.

“If you weren’t concerned about keeping that territory then you would just blow it up. The only reason you’re calling is so we don’t take it over. You considered those goonies of yours a liability but that doesn’t mean they weren’t holding onto that territory. So why don’t you just give it up?” Silence from the other end.

“So, if you wouldn’t mind leaving my guys alone and we won’t have to take any more of your territory. You stay out of that club while you’re at it. They don’t need scum like you running it into the ground.” The phone clicked off. Patrick spun towards Smyth.

“Pretty ballsy, kid. Now you gotta make sure he doesn’t retaliate. Go to your guys.” He nodded and rushed out of the room. He called V as soon as he got in the car. She never gave him her phone number, so he was forced to call the bar itself.

“We’re not open today if that’s why you’re calling.” Her voice rang through the Bluetooth in the car.

“V it’s me. You lock every damn door into that place, you got it? I don’t need to be worrying about you and that bar while I’m trying to protect my guys. Don’t let anyone in. The Snakes might be moving.”

“Oh, how romantic.” He shook his head and hung up. He did not have time for her sass.

Patrick sped through the streets, nearly hitting more than a few other cars. He swerved in and out of traffic towards the south side.

-

The stand-off had been going for nearly ten minutes. Every time the guys took a step, the leader would press the knife harder against her throat. They were stuck.

“I don’t get why you don’t just kill both of us? Why spare her? Not like she’s worth anything to you. She’s not even worth anything to her brother.” The guys shared a look.

“What are you talking about,” Pete asked slowly. He cackled again. The girl struggled but only succeeded in cutting herself more.

“Ha! You didn’t even know this little bitch was our dear leaders sister? Your informants are shit. Course, I could just blame that on your boss.” They couldn’t kill the girl. That was even more clear now. They didn’t need a bigger target on their back. Killing the leader’s sister in cold blood would be grounds for being kicked out of the gang.

“Our boss knows how to get shit done. His value for human life isn’t a liability,” Pete said. They didn’t know how much time they had before the girl was killed. Perhaps the leader was just buying time for backup.

“We’ll give you one more warning. Let the girl go and get out of here. This place is ours now.” Pete signaled to Joe as he spoke. Joe nodded and shifted the aim of his gun so it pointed at the leader’s head. He saw this and laughed.

“So ur just gunna go against your boss’s orders? What happened to all that valuing life shit?” Joe shrugged as Andy spoke.

“Deadly force is permitted when protecting others.” The guy scoffed.

“Bitch you ain’t worth dying.” He shoved the girl away from him. _At least he has some sort of common sense._ Joe thought. She stumbled forward and forced her way behind the guys. Pete watched her as she ran out the door. At least she was safe.

“Step one done. Now get out and don’t come back,” Andy threatened. The guy shrugged and sat back down on the couch.

“If you don’t kill me then the boss will so I’d rather die being loyal,” he took a sip from his beer. The guys shared a look. He probably wasn’t lying. Joe wanted to kill him. He deserved it but not when he was just giving up without having a care for his own life.

“That kind of loyalty is admirable. Too bad you’re still a piece’a shit who was gunna kill my baby sister.” The guys spun at the voice.

A guy stood there. His thinning hair line made him seem much older than he probably was. He opened and closed a lighter, like a tick. The girl from before hid behind him, looking much smaller than before. There was no way these two were related.

“I’ll deal with you little shits in a second. You can blame ur boss for ur deaths.” He pulled a gun out of the waistband of his jeans. He moved toward them lazily, as if he had all the time in the world. Pete focused his gun at the leader of the Snakes. He didn’t even flinch.

“Make another move and I won’t hesitate to kill you. I’d rather enjoy it actually.” The guy may as well have yawned.

“Yea but ur little boss wants to do it don’t he? I ain’t worried about you.” He shoved past them and took aim at the other guy’s head. He looked horrified. The leader’s eyes glinted with excitement. He _wanted_ to kill him. Pete glanced back at the girl. She had turned away and covered her ears. She should have never been involved.

“Have some god damn class and at least keep your sister out of this.” The Snakes leader only turned his head slightly in response.

“She’s free to leave whenever.” He refocused on the guy. “Beg and I might let you walk out of here.” Pete might have been scared. He had never met anyone as ruthless as this guy. They knew that they had to delay him as long as possible. Fuck why wasn’t one of them just shooting?

Joe fired a shot into his leg, Pete fired at his arm and Andy moved to tackle him. The leader grit his teeth together and shoved Andy back. He took aim at the guys and they rushed to split up. The leader fired randomly at them. They heard bottles shattering as they kept moving. They only wished the bar was a bit bigger.

“You fuckheads needa stop gettin’ in my way!” Joe took aim again but was thrown to the side. The guy that had been sitting on couch jumped to defend his boss. Joe couldn’t understand why when he was about to be shot by the same boss.

“What’s the point of defending him,” Joe scolded. “He’s just going to kill you.”

“Still my boss. I do shit for him, he does shit for me.” Joe shook his head and lunged back at him. There was no point in reasoning with him.

Pete tackled the Snakes leader, but the guy had five inches on him easily. Pete aimed a punch at his stomach but was tossed off. Andy jumped at him from the side, aiming his knee at the spot he had been shot. He winced and fell to one knee. Pete saw the flash from a blade.

“Andy, back!” the warning came too late and the blade cut into his leg. It didn’t seem like any arteries were hit, but they couldn’t be sure until they looked at it. Andy held a hand to the wound and tried to back away. The guy was already aiming for a second swipe.

“Stop it! Reggie that’s enough!” A hush fell over the bar and eyes turned to the girl. There was no way she didn’t know what she’d done. A name was highly confidential information in this business.

“Mana, I’m going to kill you.”

The door burst open and guys poured into the small bar. Their guns aimed at ‘Reggie.’ He glared at the group. Some of the larger guys tackled the other guy Joe was dealing with.

Patrick wandered in after the group, Smyth following behind. Pete wanted to relax but knew that could be a mistake if Reggie decided to make a move. He made his way toward Patrick, holding his wounded arm.

“I told you, we’d call when we were done.” Patrick glanced at him. Pete had known him long enough that he saw the corners of his mouth tilt up slightly.

“Plans change.” He looked around at the bar. “You guys really made a mess of the place. You know I have to pay to fix it right?” Pete rolled his eyes.

“His names Reggie,” Pete mentioned as Patrick moved toward the competing boss. He nodded.

“Go get that patched up,” he said as he passed Andy. Pete watched in admiration. He thought there might have been something at one point, but they were more like brothers. Brothers that would die for each other.

-

Patrick tried to keep a straight face as he spoke to Andy. It killed him to be so cool with them. He was worried and rightfully so. They could have been killed had he not shown up.

“I can’t believe you’d think that I wouldn’t act when you threatened my guys. You might actually be stupid.” Reggie smirked.

“I can’t believe you’d show your face for some lowlife grunts.” Patrick’s face betrayed him as he glared at the Snake. “Don’t tell me ya’ll’r friends? How cute,” he sneered. Patrick grabbed his shirt, making him wince.

“Keep talking and I’ll rethink letting you leave here alive.” The leader spit in his face.

“Ur weak. Gettin’ lucky ain’t good leadership.” He grabbed Patrick’s arm and twisted it. Patrick flinched and then there was an arm around his neck. His guys jumped up, but Patrick was a human shield. “You want this run-down shithole? Fine. But remember who’ll win in the end.” He held Patrick in front of him as he hobbled toward the door.

“I’ll kill you just like ur brother killed my woman.” He shoved Patrick and made a run for it. A car pealed up to the curb and he hopped in. Joe rushed over to check Patrick for injuries.

“I’m fine. I want everyone I can get set on tracking him down.” A moment of silence. “Now!” Everyone moved on restraining the snake members that were still conscious. Smyth stepped up to him and spoke quietly.

“You hesitated. Now was not the time for trying to spare lives.” Patrick clenched his fist. He knew that.

“Will never happen again.” Smyth looked over his face. His eyes were icy. Patrick was finally understanding.

Patrick looked over to where Pete was. There was a girl who looked shaken. Had she been caught in the crossfire?

“Check the back for any workers. Let them know they’ll be safe from the Snakes.” He made his way over to Pete and the girl. “Are you ok?” She nodded.

“Are you going to kill my brother?” It took Patrick a moment to register her question.

“This is Mana. Reggie’s sister.” He looked her up and down. Didn’t strike him as the type to be running with the gangs. But he didn’t look it either.

“Depends what he does. I don’t like to kill people. But if he insists on attacking my guys or innocent people, yes I’ll kill him.” She bit her lip and nodded. They couldn’t trust her. Who knew where her loyalties were.

“I’ve offered her protection,” Pete said quietly. Patrick froze, and his eyes darted to Pete.

“Excuse us, Mana.” He yanked Pete away from the girl. He tried to be mindful of his injured arm. “Watch her,” he said to one of the reserves.

“You _what_ ,” Patrick hissed. “We have no idea who’s side she’s on!”

“I said we’d offer her protection, not tell her all our secrets,” Pete defended. “Her brother just threatened to kill her, and he doesn’t seem like the type to lie about that shit.” Joe joined the conversation.

“What’s going on?”

“Please tell Pete that offering protection to the sister of the rival gang is an awful idea. Where did you intend to keep her Pete?” Joe thought for a moment.

“I mean her brother did just threaten her,” Joe said hesitantly. Patrick ran a hand through his hair.

“You’re both crazy. Hard no.” Pete glared at Patrick.

“You’re just going to leave her when she needs help? That is not that Patrick I know.” Patrick threw his hand up in frustration.

“I’m trying to protect everyone! You’re saying that you trust her?” Silence. He shook his head and ran his hand down his face. “Fine. She can stay in one of the guest rooms. She doesn’t leave without an escort. And when we go she must have a blindfold on.” Pete nodded and left to talk to Mana. Joe rested a hand on his shoulder.

“I don’t trust her either. But don’t lose your humanity, Trick.” He sighed. Joe was right and as much as he hated to admit it, so was Pete. He wouldn’t turn down someone who needed help. Someone tapped Patrick’s shoulder. An older woman who looked like this whole thing was an inconvenience stood with her hands on her hips.

“You best be plannin’ to fix m’bar,” she said. Patrick smiled at her and her gaze of steel faltered a bit.

“Ma’am, I promise to fix this place. I’ll build it better than it was before.” She nodded and cleared her throat.

“I’ll hold’ya to that boy.” Patrick turned back to Joe.

“Alright. Let’s head back. We need a new action plan.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for some minor non-con stuff. Not graphic but could be triggering. Underage stripping is also mentioned but not described.

The meeting room was silent. It had been for days. No one could come up with anything more than cut the head off the Snake. Patrick was stressed for more reasons than one. They had that guys sister in a holding room. She was untouchable as long as she behaved. He wasn’t going to kill her simply because Reggie’s family killed his.

It seemed strange to him that that creep would even care about someone other than himself. He didn’t even pay attention to his sister. No calls had come asking for her back. No threats.

Patrick had sent some people to fix the bar that got destroyed in the crossfire. But now he had to assign a new head of that section. It was too big to just split up between the surrounding areas. Patrick ran a hand through his hair and groaned.

“That really does wonders for our morale, dude. You have no idea,” Joe poked. They were all stressed. How could they not be?

“Sorry, I’m just really trying to figure out what he’s up to. He hasn’t made a single move since he sped off the other day.”

“I mean, he was pretty badly wounded if I do say so myself.” Pete leaned back in his chair, playing with a knife he had lifted off one of the Snakes. Pete hadn’t been all there recently. He was always distracted by something. He would constantly come in late to meetings and would ignore Patrick’s phone calls.

“Glad to see you’re actually invested in the conversation today, Pete.” Andy and Joe looked between the two, not daring to say anything.

“I’m always invested in the conversation. The fuck are you talking about,” Pete said, glaring. The knife he was holding snapped closed.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe you’re just too focused on our guest a few doors down?” Pete clenched his jaw and stood from the table.

“Well it’s not like anyone else is interacting with her. She can’t just sit in isolation.”

“Have you at least gotten any useful information out of her?” Pete glared at him. It wasn’t Patrick’s fault. He didn’t want to take any chances.

“Her name is Mana. And I told you she doesn’t want anything to do with this. She’s told us what she knows.” Patrick stood from his spot, clenching his fists. He didn’t understand why Pete was being so damn protective of her.

“I wouldn’t know that for certain, now would I? I’ve been trusting you to pass along information. Maybe that was a mistake.” The room fell silent. Pete flicked open the knife he was holding and thrust it into the table.

“Don’t trust me, huh? What happened to you, Trick?” Pete ran a hand through his hair, laughing sarcastically. “And don’t start spewing that bullshit about trying to protect everyone.”

Joe and Andy stood from their spots. This had gone far enough. There would be no choosing sides today.

“This isn’t helping anything,” Andy said. Patrick sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Andy’s right. You two arguing over some girl is way too reminiscent of high school drama. Last time I checked, we were at least _trying_ to be adults,” Joe scolded.

Patrick shared a look with Pete. Fighting over girls wasn’t common with them. Not even in high school. And as cliché as it was, Patrick trusted Pete. But he definitely didn’t trust Mana.

“Just watch yourself around her, Pete.” It took a moment, but he relaxed. He yanked the knife out of the table.

“You got it, Boss.” A knock resonated through the room. His three best friends immediately moved between him and the door.

“Who is it,” Joe called cautiously. The handle jiggled as the door swung open. Both Andy and Joe reached for their guns.

“Chill kids. Just me. And our guest.” Smyth stepped into the room, Mana following behind. She kept her head down. Patrick relaxed his shoulders and shook his head.

“A bit of a warning would be nice.” The door clicked shut again as Smyth guided Mana to a chair.

“It’s not my fault you haven’t been paying attention to your phone.”

Patrick glanced back at his desk where his phone sat. He had a bad habit of leaving it places. Smyth had scolded him about it many times before.

“Sorry. So, what’s the news?” He tapped Mana on the shoulder and she looked up at Patrick. He could see the blotchiness of her face and her eyes were still red. She had been crying.

“I have information. I’m sorry I haven’t said anything. I just want all of this to be over; to get out of here.” Patrick narrowed his eyes.

“Do you want to go back to your brother?” He crossed his arms and she shook her head. She seemed to shrink in size even more.

“He’ll kill me if I go back. I know it. I messed up by saying his name. I have no where anymore.” A few tears leaked down her face. She wiped them away quickly. Patrick wanted to trust her. But for all he knew, this was all an act.

Patrick fiddled with the straps on his fingerless gloves. They were slightly too big for him, having been his brothers, who was much larger than he was. He thought to himself for a second and glanced over at Pete. Pete watched her with a gentleness he hadn’t seen in him for a while. He warned him but there was no way he could stop Pete if he had developed a crush.

“There’s a safe house we can let you stay in. But let me warn you, you will be watched. If you try to contact your brother, you will be thrown back on the street.” She clenched her fists but nodded.

“I know you don’t trust me. But I promise to not cause any trouble. If there’s anything I can do, just tell me,” she said. Her voice shook but she seemed sincere.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself.” Patrick turned to Pete. “You can take her there and get her situated. Then find Elle and have her get her some clothes or something.” Pete tried to hide his smile but wasn’t very successful. He really needed to work on that.

“Yes, sir.” He stepped up to her and signaled for her to stand and follow him. Once they were out, Patrick ran a hand through his hair. He looked between the other three guys in the room. Joe had a raised eyebrow.

“Don’t give me that look. Pete can handle himself.” Joe lifted his hands in surrender.

“Around women though? That’s an awful lota trust.” Patrick rolled his eyes at the jab. He wanted to laugh but Joe knows how reliable Pete is. Smyth cleared his throat.

“Well now that we all have determined Pete has a bad taste in women, I have info for you, Boss.” He handed a folder to Patrick. He thumbed through it briefly. The stuff about Vinn he had requested.

“I’ll look through this in detail later but give me the general run down.” Andy stepped forward.

“Generally, he’s an asshole.” Patrick rolled his eyes. “He has several convictions for drugs. And more than just weed. The mob has bailed him out every time. But not necessarily with the approval of the boss.”

“There’s also evidence suggesting some human trafficking,” Smyth added slowly. Patrick clenched his jaw. He could throw up.

“So why has no one gotten rid of him yet?” Andy and Smyth shared a look. “Someone answer me before I hit something,” Patrick said, gripping the table.

“His family. They’ve been with the Overcasts for a long time. He grew up when this stuff happened regularly. Your brother never investigated him too deeply for that reason. Throwing someone out with that kind of legacy isn’t exactly smiled upon.” Patrick slammed his fist down on the table.

“I don’t care what he grew up with! His conscious is clearly not working properly. He needs to be removed as leader of his sector. He didn’t listen to my brother, and he won’t listen to me.” Patrick grabbed his jacket, ready to storm out the door. Joe grabbed his arm.

“Dude now you’re not thinking rationally. Take a second to think,” Joe said. Patrick shook him off.

“I am thinking. I’m thinking about the people he sold and the minors lives he ruined.” Patrick was close to yelling.

“There’s no hard evidence, Trick. You can’t pin him for anything. It simply looks that way as someone with a trained eye,” Smyth said cautiously. Patrick took a breath and collapsed in a chair. They were right. He couldn’t storm into wherever and start accusing him. That wouldn’t exactly help his reputation either.

Patrick thought racked his brain for a thought about how to approach this. V popped into his mind. He knows how she responded when he asked about him initially. Discomfort. She had to know something. He stood quickly.

“I have to go talk to V.” He grabbed his jacket again.

“Just cause you’re stressed doesn’t mean there’s time for you to fuck your head clear,” Joe said. Patrick could kill him sometimes. He glared.

“You’re supposed to be better than Pete. Come with me. I think she knows something about our friend.”

-

The car ride was silent. Pete wanted to put music on or something, but he didn’t know if that would be weird or not. Mana didn’t say much; just stared out the window. Pete didn’t understand exactly why she was so interesting. It’s not like his heart fluttered or some bull shit when he looked at her.

“Feel free to turn on the radio or something,” he said awkwardly. She turned her head slightly in response but nothing else. Something she must have picked up from her brother. Back to silence.

A few minutes later, he heard her sigh and mumble something. Not sure if he was meant to hear it or not, he didn’t say anything. She tapped her fingers against her leg. Pete almost jumped when she started talking.

“I really didn’t want anything to do with all this gang stuff. But I suppose that was a naïve thought.” Pete glanced over at her. She tucked a piece of black hair behind her ear but because of the curls, refused to stay in place.

“Nothing wrong with being hopeful. Is it a family thing?” He didn’t expect an answer. But apparently Mana trusted him enough to at least give some insight.

“Yea. A bit. Not for long. Started with my grandfather. Been passed down to the oldest son since.” Pete nodded along. That wasn’t uncommon, but it was falling out of practice pretty quickly.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but your boss seems pretty soft. At least compared to the others I’ve met.” Pete clenched the steering wheel. He had to be careful of what he said. He trusted her more than he should already, but that doesn’t mean he wanted to talk about Patrick with her.

“He just doesn’t favor the taking of life to solve problems,” he said. He hoped she would just drop it. No such luck.

“Well I suppose that’s lucky for me then. I just don’t know how long he’ll be able to hold onto his title that way.” Pete took a sharp turn down a back street, making Mana press against the door slightly. She stared at him for a moment. “Understood. Your boss is an off-limits topic.”

Pete relaxed slightly. At least the message got across. He wanted to learn about her, but that usually required spilling some stuff about yourself with it. He pulled up to the seemingly run-down condo building. It was still functional, but they had a permanent hold on a floor of the building.

He parked in a spot in front of the door. He locked Mana’s door so she couldn’t get out until he came to open it for her. She rolled her eyes at him, clearly not appreciating the lack of trust.

“Seriously? Where the fuck else am I gunna go?” Pete raised an eyebrow at the curse word. He just never expected to hear something like that from her.

“Sorry, dear but we can’t exactly trust you yet. For all I know, you’re going to kill me as soon as we’re out of public view,” he said, holding the door open for her. She scoffed at him.

“I could say the same about you. I don’t exactly feel safe when I’m alone with one of the ‘trio from hell.’” Pete nodded to the receptionist and tried to keep the grin off his face.

“Ah so you’ve heard of us.” They stepped into the elevator and she shrugged, leaning against the wall.

“Hard not to.” It was Pete’s turn to shrug. He knew what their reputation was. He wasn’t ashamed of it, it was just strange to actually be referred to by that name. The elevator dinged at the ninth floor.

Mana looked around, probably taking note of the lack of guards. This place was monitored heavily. There were cameras at each end of the hallway and a motion detector for the door to the stairs. Pete grabbed her arm gently to pull her a few rooms down.

These condos were nice. They might have been studio, but they worked as safe places. He pushed the door open and Mana raised an eyebrow at him.

“No lock,” she questioned?

“There is. The only person that has access to it will be whoever is on watch that day.” She wandered around the room.

“Great so I’m still a prisoner, just in a slightly nicer room with my own bathroom.” Pete sighed.

“Look. All you gotta do is prove that we can trust you. You’re the one that offered to help our boss earlier, so it shouldn’t be like this for long.” She blew a piece of hair out of her face and crossed her arms.

“And I’m supposed to trust _you_ and I don’t even know your name.” He thought for a moment. She had a point, but did he really want to make himself that vulnerable? It wasn’t Patrick’s name so it should be ok. She made a motion with her hands as if to say, ’see?’

“It’s Pete. Happier now?” She scrunched her nose in doubt.

“Yea, but how do I know you’re not lying to me,” she asked, almost playfully. He could have sworn that he saw her look him up and down but maybe he imagined it.

“What? You want my ID or some shit?” She shook her head and giggled.

“Nah, I believe you.”

-

Patrick banged on the door to the club. There was a lock clicking and a new bouncer poked his head out. Not quite as tall as the other guy but still buff and not to be messed with. But he really didn’t care about that right now.

“Where’s V? I have business to discuss.” Joe stood quietly at his side, not wanting to face Patrick’s wrath.

“And you are?” He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. Patrick didn’t have time for this.

“I’m the guy that keeps this place going. I’m your bosses’ boss so god damnit get me V.” Patrick yanked out his ID again and showed the guy. He moved out of the way pretty quickly then.

“Uh, sir, can you wait in her office? She’s in the middle of a show,” he said, trailing off when he realized Patrick wasn’t listening.

It was harnesses this time. Wrapped around her body every which way. Bills hung out of various straps as she ran her hands over her body. Patrick tried not to stare but it was hard when she was the only thing to watch. Joe tapped his shoulder.

“Reminder that there is no time for a quickie,” he whispered. Patrick smacked him as Joe chuckled to himself. When he looked back at the stage, V had noticed him.

Her eyes locked on his as her body swayed to the beat. He cursed himself for reacting, but it was hard not to. He was the one to break eye contact again. It was like going through puberty again. He rushed off to the back room, Joe following closely behind him.

“And you give Pete shit about being into a girl,” he mumbled. Patrick glared at him again.

“Oh please, that was mostly you,” he retorted. Joe shrugged but didn’t deny it.

“Yea well be sure to hide _that_ before she walks in here. Otherwise it’ll be awkward.” Patrick felt the blush rise to his face.

“Fuck you man.” So it had been a while since he got off. Not his fault he was so busy. It was just frustration. It was the only reason he was reacting the way he was. He tried to think of some weird stuff to make it go away but the door squeaked open.

V was shrugging on a sweatshirt but hadn’t changed out of her costume. Patrick’s eyes drifted but only for a moment before he caught himself.

“So, what did you boys need that was so important?” Joe cleared his throat, clearly not expecting her to walk in mostly naked either.

“We have some questions about a certain person. And we think you can help us,” he said. She raised an eyebrow and looked between them. She sat on her desk and crossed her legs.

“I’ll tell you what I can but like I told you last time Patrick, we have a confidentiality policy.” Patrick slipped his hands into his pockets.

“Look, I think I’m going to have to override that sentiment. It’s about Bult.” Patrick noticed her jaw clench. Why wasn’t she talking? “We have reason to believe he’s involved in trafficking. And if you know anything, please tell us so we can respond accordingly.” She ran a hand through her hair and stared at a wall. Joe tapped Patrick’s arm.

“I’ll wait outside. Seems personal,” he whispered. Patrick nodded. He trusted Joe to read a room when he couldn’t. Joe was rarely wrong about this stuff. The door clicked shut once again and Patrick moved toward her.

“Hey, if there’s something you need, you can just ask,” he said gently. She shook her head and took in a shaky breath.

“I need you to promise me something,” she said, meeting his eyes. He found himself nodding without even thinking.

“What is it?”

“Immunity. From the wrath that is you being the boss who makes the rules.” His brow furrowed as he considered. Just how bad was it and how deep did it run?

“You have my word,” he promised. Her shoulders relaxed but only slightly. She took another deep breath before starting.

“At one point, there was a girl who worked for me. Drew in a lot of customers. Specifically, Vinn and his buddies. They could get a bit rowdy, but they paid well and ordered drinks all night. I was taking out garbage one night and I saw her. She was giving all the money she earned to Vinn. Then he would grope her and his friends would join in. When I tried to ask her about it, all she would tell me was that she was doing this for her family. Then I found out she was under age. Vinn had faked all of her papers and made her work for me.” A couple tears slipped down her face, but she wiped them away. Patrick wanted to reach for her. Comfort her. But that wasn’t the end.

“I refused to let her dance anymore and she was devastated because she was just protecting her family. The one that Vinn had threatened because they owed him money for drugs or something. I confronted him and he threatened me. Said that If I ever told anyone, he would make sure my business was run into the ground. And that he would kill the girl and her family,” she barely squeaked out the last sentence. She wrapped her arms around herself.

How was he supposed to respond to that? She wasn’t to blame. And he hated to do this to her, but he needed more information.

“Where is the girl now?” Her body shook with sobs. Patrick winced at how fragile this strong woman had become.

“I don’t know. I was forced to let her dance for a couple weeks then she disappeared. I couldn’t get in touch with her after that.” She wiped her face with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. Patrick couldn’t just watch her anymore. He stepped into her personal space and pulled her against him, hugging her.

She stiffened for a moment in surprise but then fell against him. He pet her hair gently as she buried her face into his shoulder. He could feel how strong she was but even he knew that everyone needed this sometimes.

“I hate to keep asking questions V, but what was her name,” he asked softly. She pushed away from him.

“Tiara Brookland. I’ve checked social media, homeless shelters, everything. I doubt you’ll be able to do any better.” He tried to smile at her but it was strained.

Patrick was beyond pissed. Really Vinn shouldn’t even be alive. Perhaps this was a situation he needed to take care of himself.

“I promise you. I will take care of it.” She nodded as she wiped her face some more. The tears had stopped flowing but her face was still red. He turned toward the door so he could go deal with the problem.

“I’ll hold you to that, Mr. Stump.” He paused at the door. “Come visit me sometime. Preferably when you don’t need something.” He turned back slightly but decided rather to just give a backwards wave.

Joe waited outside, arms crossed, leaning against the wall. His eyes were shut as if he was taking a nap. Patrick gave him a pat on the shoulder as he walked by. He took out his phone and dialed Smyth. He picked up after a couple rings.

“Get anything useful?”

“It’s personal Smyth. Just get Pete back to headquarters. And make sure no information is passed on to Vinn Bult ever again. Make sure that gets around. Oh, and track him down.”

“You sound scary kid. Should I be concerned?”

“He trafficked an underage girl Smyth. He doesn’t deserve to live. We’ll be doing humanity a favor by getting rid of him.” Patrick looked over at Joe who had has fists clenched. He wouldn’t have to convince him to help.

“Listen, if you want to do this, I’ll stand behind you. But make sure you know what you’re doing. I know your brother told you to not make decisions out of anger.”

“Yea well I know my feelings won’t change even once I’ve calmed down.” The two of them climbed into the car.

“Understood, Boss.” Patrick ended the call. He shared a look with Joe before speeding off towards headquarters.

-

Reggie winced as he maneuvered around the small bar. Smoke filled the air and the bartender coughed as someone blew it in her face. He looked around to his guys enjoying the whores he was paying to be there. He needed a new source of revenue since losing that little run-down thing to the north siders. And sex always sold.

These pretty little things were all hiding this side of them from their families. So, it would be easy to get them to do what he wants. He had pictures and videos of all of them. And he knew exactly where they lived. He grabbed a girl by the arm, pulling her against him.

“Hey, babe, why not help me get out some frustration.” She nodded but not quite as enthusiastically as he would have liked. “Come on you little bitch, be happy that you get to be fucked by me, the Boss.”

He pressed his mouth against hers, groping her body as he pleased. He needed this distraction. That little shit from the north side was better than he originally thought. But he didn’t care. He would destroy all of them.

He grabbed the girl by the neck, forcing her mouth open with his tongue. She squirmed but that just turned him on even more. He enjoyed himself, but it didn’t last for long. A throat cleared, making him groan. He shoved the girl away from him.

“What? I’m in the middle of something.”

“Apologies, boss. Just wanted to let you know that I’ve been cut off. Those stuck-ups are lookin for me.” A beat passed.

“Well, what the fuck Bult? You were supposed to be my inside man. All ya had to do, was not get caught.” He stood from his seat. Then there was a gun pressed against Vinn’s head. “What use are you to me now?” He lifted his hands in surrender.

“Look man, I still know shit. I know where hideouts are. Patrick won’t have a new leader of that sector for a while. You could move in easily. Have a base in the middle of their territory.” Reggie considered for a moment.

“Keep talking and I might not shoot you.”

-

Patrick tapped his fingers impatiently on the desk. Pete still wasn’t back. He ignored the possibilities that worried him and focused on the fact that he was probably getting laid or something.

“Fucking hell, Pete. I’m going to kill you.” He grabbed his phone again, dialing his number. Voicemail for the third time. He resisted the urge to throw his phone.

“Trick. Chill. We have time. No one knows where the guy is yet,” Joe pointed out. Patrick ran his hands through his hair, messing it up more than it already was.

“Why the hell not? It’s one fucking guy!” Joe and Andy shared a look.

“Trick. We’re just as pissed as you, but you need to calm down,” Andy said. “You’re too riled up and I wouldn’t want you making any decisions like this.” The door to the room opened and there was Pete, wandering in. Joe tried to stop him as Patrick stormed up to Pete, grabbing him by the shirt.

“Where the fuck have you been? I’ve called and texted and not a single reply? I told you to drop her off and that was it! That shouldn’t have taken hours!” Patrick snarled at Pete. He grabbed Patrick’s arms and shoved him away.

“The hell is your problem? I came as soon as Smyth called me. The safe house isn’t exactly close if you remember. Of course, I don’t think you can even think straight right now!” Patrick lunged for him again, but Andy held him back.

“Knock it off, Patrick. You’re letting your emotions run wild.”

“Look, Trick. I am all for getting rid of this guy. But I will not do it when you can’t get a hold of yourself.” He stopped struggling against Andy. He looked at the four pairs of eyes focused on him.

They were right. He was the boss and he needed to act like it. He needed composure in this kind of situation. At least while he was in front of them. Andy released him hesitantly. He straitened his vest and took a moment to breathe.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t in control. I’m fine now,” he said. He wasn’t sure if he would be fine when he saw Vinn but as of right now, he was calm.

“Nice to have you back,” Smyth commented. “That doesn’t change the fact that we don’t know where he is. My guess is that he booked it once he found that he was cut off.” Patrick nodded.

“And how’s other people’s opinions looking,” Andy asked?

“No one seems to be questioning so far. Our friend must have been causing trouble everywhere.”

Patrick ran a hand over his face and he thought back to V. He should have gotten rid of Vinn much earlier. He knew something wasn’t right and he ignored it in favor of trying to be merciful. Clearly a mistake.

“Smyth, I need you to locate someone for me. At least while we wait for more information on Vinn.” He nodded and signaled for him to continue. “Tiara Brookland. She used to work at V’s club. One day she just stopped coming and hasn’t been heard from since.”

“Got it. I’ll see what I can find.” He headed for the door, still limping slightly.

“And what are we going to do, Boss,” Pete asked?

“We are going to his sector to see how he left the place. Pilsen is where his base of operations should be.”


	4. Chapter 4

The ride was tense. No one wanted to say something to set Patrick off again. They were all in agreement over getting rid of the asshole, but Patrick really seemed riled up. He blamed himself for any trouble that he may have caused.

They had taken one of their less obvious cars. They figured if Vinn had any guys that were loyal to him, they would be reporting any nice cars in the area. Even if he wasn’t there anymore.

Pilsen hasn’t changed much during the time Patrick could remember. It was a lower income section of the city that needed a lot of work. Work that Vinn clearly wasn’t doing. The buildings looked like they were falling apart. Paint was pealing. The graffiti art looked more like vandalism.

They pulled up to a larger office building. Patrick hadn’t been here in a while. He remembered coming here once with his brother, but it was more to pay respects than to do business. There was a festival going on at the time.

Patrick shook himself out of memory lane as they opened the door and stepped out cautiously. It was too quiet around here. There was no way Vinn just abandoned it. Patrick reached for the gun at his hip.

“Stay alert. Some of his guys are probably still around.” Various sounds of agreement followed.

They made their way up to the door. Andy pulled and it opened with ease. They all shared a look and began to move inside. First Joe and Pete, then Patrick and Andy rounded the back. The front lobby was empty, or at least seemed to be. Joe hurried around the front desk to get into the computer.

“Ok, so there’s two floors of offices and the third is probably the main office. This also shows a basement. It’s the only floor I can’t unlock from here. Must be his ‘jail’ of sorts.” Patrick nodded. They would have to find a staircase. And if that isn’t possible, they would have to climb the elevator shafts.

“One floor at a time. We have to make sure no one else is here before we lock it down.”

“Do you want me to call back up now? You seem on edge,” Pete said. Patrick thought for a moment.

“I just don’t trust that this place is empty. Maybe that would be a good idea. At least put them on standby somewhere close.” Pete nodded and shot a text to the reserves. They made their way over to the elevator, trying to keep an ear out for anything that wasn’t normal.

It was still playing the bad music that all elevators play, making Patrick’s skin crawl. He felt like it was a horror move. He supposed it was in a way. The things they did were horrific, and he couldn’t seem to escape it.

The elevator dinged, signaling their arrival to the second floor. They exited in the same order as before, each with their guns loaded. They couldn’t afford to be surprised. They made their way down the hallway, opening each door slowly. They all looked like regular offices, but Patrick knew they would have to send drug sniffing dogs in here before reforming it.

Patrick located the lobby area of the second floor. The coffee was still warm. The people here had left in a hurry. Or maybe they hadn’t left at all.

“Trick, you better come see this.” He turned toward the voice. The other three stood in front of the door to another room. He made his way over quickly. Patrick winced at the scene before him.

A single gunshot to the head. The man was slumped in his chair as if he didn’t have time to react before he was shot. Patrick didn’t recognize him. He looked around the room briefly. There was a picture of him with his wife and kids but little else to identify him. He sighed.

“Look for a business card or something. We have to inform his family. If they’re still alive.” The guys nodded as they looked around the room. Patrick hadn’t expected to find any bodies. That was naive of him. Patrick left to look through the other rooms but that was the only one with a dead body.

“Hey, boss, I found something. And you won’t like it.” Pete handed him a piece of paper.

_If you found this I congratulate you on not being a fucking dumbass. I promise this guy deserved it. He wasn’t meeting quota. It’s time for things to change so that we can actually make money. So, I’d appreciate it if you handed the territory over to the Snakes._

It wasn’t signed. But it didn’t need to be. Vinn had switched sides. Patrick had expected it, but something was telling him that this wouldn’t be the only body they would come across. Patrick wondered how long Vinn had been working with Reggie and the Snakes.

But this meant they had to shift operations everywhere. Safe houses weren’t safe and headquarters for other districts were compromised. He had to move his headquarters also. Unless He killed Vinn before he could spill. Patrick folded the paper and slipped it in his pocket.

“Here’s what’s going to happen. Vinn is going to come back. Probably with reinforcements. We need to have this place under strict watch when that happens. We need any forces we can get so we can ambush them. The ultimate goal is to get rid of Vinn. I don’t care who does it, but it needs to be done.” The other three guys nodded.

“And what if the Snake leader is there. Should he take priority?” Patrick thought for a moment.

“You three and I will focus on Reggie if he shows up. I need him taken alive.”

-

Reggie sipped on a beer. This plan better work or that idiot was going to have hell to pay. He looked around the limo. His guys held their guns lazily. Dumbasses were gunna kill each other before the target.

“What did I tell you about holding those? They’re semi-automatic. I don’t need a million fucking holes in my limo or myself. Look alive you little shits,” he snapped at them. They each changed the way they were sitting. He really did love being the boss.

Reggie pulled out his phone and texted her. He smirked at his phone with the dirty picture. He couldn’t wait to see Patrick’s face when he showed him this. It’d break his little heart. He’s too soft. He’s not fit to be a leader. She had told him that plenty of times.

-

_Make sure everyone is prepared. And find that guys family. They deserve to mourn._

Patrick hit send on the text to Smyth. They had moved through the rest of the building they could access. There weren’t any more bodies but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be once Joe hacked the lock to the basement.

Joe cursed from behind the counter. Clearly it wasn’t going well.

“Damnit. Why the fuck does he have something this complex. There’s not even anything this difficult in our own headquarters. This is like, military grade shit.”

“Not sure if I should take that as an insult to our own security,” Patrick said, watching the front door.

“No. This is way more beefed up. I can get into it but not in any sort of reasonable time frame.” He turned back and Joe shrugged. Patrick clenched his fist and resisted the urge to hit a wall.

It was important that they learned what was down there before turning it into a war zone. He wanted to clear out the entire surrounding area, but he couldn’t just displace that many people. And he probably couldn’t afford to fix all their homes if they were to be destroyed.

“Alright. I’m going to try to find another way in,” Patrick said. Joe nodded and kept working.

“I’ll come with,” Andy said.

The two of them stepped out of the front door, looking around cautiously. They made their way to the back of the building, hoping for a cellar door that they could easily break. Patrick tried to peer through the dark windows. There hadn’t been any doors in the front room except for the storage and bathrooms.

“There weren’t any windows in the storage room or bathrooms, right?” Andy thought and shook his head.

“No.”

“Well these can’t just go nowhere.” Patrick looked around for something to break the window. The wall had begun to deteriorate in some places. He picked up a larger piece of concrete. It would do.

Patrick moved back to one of the windows. He tried to see what was inside again, but it was still dark. He stepped back and hurled the block at the window. The glass shattered. Patrick waited for the glass to stop falling before he walked up to the hole.

“No one is in here right,” he called in through the hole. Silence followed. “Alright. Help me get rid of the glass so I can get in there.”

“Not sure if that’s a good idea. What if you can’t get back out?”

“I just have to get back to this window. But if this is how we get to the basement then I gotta check it out.” Andy nodded slowly and helped knock off the remaining glass.

Patrick jumped up and slid through the opening. This wasn’t easy in dress pants, but he did it. He landed on the dirty floor. Andy waited by the window as he explored. There was minimal light from the windows. They were too tinted.

Patrick didn’t see much other than a few tables with chairs covered in a layer of dust. He was looking for a door. An exit that would lead somewhere more familiar. He noticed one on the other side of the room. He moved slowly, just in case he needed to be aware of something.

He jiggled the handle. It opened to a staircase down. He wanted to see what was down there but he couldn’t without backup. He jogged back to the window.

“I found a staircase going down. We should get the other two,” Patrick said. Andy nodded then reached for his phone that seemed to be buzzing. His eyes widened a fraction and then Patrick heard the gunshots.

“Stay here. Looks like Vinn got here earlier than we thought.” Andy rushed off. Fuck.

Patrick clambered out of the window and ran around the building, prepping his gun on the way. He hid behind a corner and peeked around it. There were three limos and their car. He didn’t see anyone but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any still in the vehicles.

The gunshots resumed. They sounded like machineguns. He couldn’t just leave them there to die. He had to find another way to get in. He didn’t want to go back to the other room, but he figured that was the only option.

He stepped back. Into the barrel of a gun.

“I can’t believe your right hands just left you alone. I knew you was a shitty leader. Never understood like your brother,” Vinn sneered at him. “Drop your gun or I’ll kill you.”

“You’re going to kill me anyway so what’s the point,” Patrick spit back. The gun pressed harder against his head.

“Shut up you waste of space and do what I say!” He was bluffing. No one was allowed to kill him except Reggie. How considerate.

“The thing about losers like you, you will never have power. You only have the illusion of power. No one respects you. You could never get anyone to do what you want.” Vinn shoved him forward and spun him around, grabbing his shirt.

“Shut up! I don’t need it when I have a gun in my hand. People tend to listen to that,” he said, glaring.

“And yet here we are.” His nose flared and brought his gun up to hit Patrick across the face. He never got to hitting him though.

As soon as the barrel wasn’t pointed at him anymore, he swept his feet out from under him. Vinn stumbled back and Patrick trained his gun on him. He hated killing people. But this one was necessary.

“Any last words?” He stopped himself from laughing at the cliché.

“What happened to never raising a weapon against your own?” Patrick glared at him.

“You never were one of us and even if you were, it ended as soon as you started trafficking underage girls,” he scolded. Vinn rolled his eyes

“Oh, I see. Your girl spill her guts before she blew you? The whore broke her promise. Shouldn’t have expected anything more,” Vinn said, a smirk overtaking his face. Patrick’s anger flared, and his fist was flying at Vinn’s face. Patrick could feel the bones in his nose break. Or maybe that was his hand. Vinn stumbled into the wall, clutching his face.

“Don’t talk about her like that. You’re the disgusting one. The world will be better without you.” Vinn met his eyes and Patrick almost hesitated. Almost.

He fired a single shot into his head. The memory of Smyth killing a guy that day flashed across his mind. This was it. This was part of the business he wanted to take over. He couldn’t react the same way he did that day.

“Well that wasn’t very nice. Idiot did have some good ideas.” Patrick turned to the new voice. He would never forget it. He pointed his gun at Reggie’s head.

A cigarette hung loosely out of his mouth. And he still didn’t flinch with a gun pointed at him.

“Shoot if you want but I don’t think ‘ur guys would appreciate being dead any more than I would,” he said. Patrick looked over his shoulder and saw Pete, Joe, and Andy being restrained by more than a few of his guys. He ground his teeth together.

“Don’t listen to him, idiot! Just shoot,” Pete yelled at him. A guy hit him with the end of his gun. Patrick took a step toward them.

“I wouldn’t. Not in the middle of our little convo.” Patrick looked back at the Snake’s leader.

“So then start talking. Clearly you want something,” he said. Reggie looked almost thoughtful.

“More like I want this building. And this whole area. Saves you the trouble of finding a new leader for this section.” Patrick clenched his jaw. It wasn’t a huge section, but it would pretty much negate the area they took from the Snakes.

“Make up your mind pretty boy, I don’t got all day,” Reggie said, irritated. Patrick looked back to his three friends. Where was that backup he called for?

“You have to promise me their safety. Let us go, and it’s yours.” Patrick heard loud protesting from his friends, but he dared not look at them. Reggie smirked and lifted his hand.

“Good choice kid.” Patrick eyes darted over to the other three and they were being released. Guns were pointed at them the entire time they walked towards him. Patrick looked past their angry glares to Reggie. “Now get out.”

“You going to let us go to our car,” Patrick asked stiffly? Reggie glanced behind him then back at Patrick.

“Nah. I like that car.” Patrick glared at him. He shouldn’t have expected any more.

Patrick nodded to the other three and they all backed away slowly. He never turned his back to the other gang. He glanced over to the back of the building where they had broken in. What was in there?

“And do me a favor! Bring my baby sister back at some point wontcha?” There was cackling from the group. Patrick wanted to puke. He wouldn’t send her back to that.

“I oughta kill him with my bare hands,” Pete mumbled. Patrick didn’t disagree.

“Soon,” he said.

Patrick looked around but still didn’t see any cars pulling up. Maybe Vinn took more with him than he thought. Once they were a safe distance away, he pulled out his phone again and dialed Smyth.

“What’s going on, Boss?”

“We got a problem. Pete called for reinforcements but none showed up. We were ambushed. Lost Pilsen.” Smyth said something to whoever was with him.

“We never got the message for back up.”

“Fuck. Then Vinn had a hold on more people than originally thought.”

“Did you find him?” Patrick gripped the phone.

“Yea. He’s dead.” Silence. “We’re headed north from the Pilsen headquarters. Come get us. But be careful.”

“Sure… You ok, kid?” No. He wasn’t. But that didn’t matter.

“Yea. Just hurry up.”

Patrick hung up and looked at his friends. Joe looked like he wanted to lecture him. He probably deserved it. But if he could go back, he wouldn’t change a damn thing.

“Don’t say anything. I would save you guys again in a heartbeat. When we get back to base, get ready to move. I don’t know how much Vinn spilled so we gotta go.” The three of them nodded as they continued walking.

A small kid ran across their path, nearly tripping Joe. A short mother ran after him, calling his name.

“Marcelo! Stop running!” She was able to grab the small boy’s arm and picked him up. “What did I tell you? You going to hurt yourself,” she scolded him. She turned toward the four of them. She looked them up and down and held her child closer to her.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her slight accent noticeable. Patrick tried to smile at her, but it was clear she wasn’t trusting them. Understandably so.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure kids can be a handful,” he said lightly.

“We don’t need money from you!” Patrick raised an eyebrow and looked over at Pete.

“I didn’t mean to suggest that you do. I’m sorry for offending you.” She seemed to relax slightly.

“You mean to tell me you don’t work for that gang? You don’t want to destroy everything we built?” Patrick sighed and ran a hand through his hair. So that was it. Vinn traumatized these people. And it was just going to get worse.

“Ma’am, you have no idea how sorry I am that you had to go through times of such fear. That man is gone now. And I’m begging you to hold on just a bit longer. I will help you rebuild. It won’t be horrible forever.”

“Don’t tell me you’re the big guy?” She seemed to be joking but her face changed as Patrick nodded. “Well then you better do something fast. Because there’s more drugs running through these streets than the rain can wash away.” He clenched his fists.

“Unfortunately, I don’t control this section right now. But I promise, I’ll get it back.” A car pulled up to the side of the street. The window rolled down and there was Smyth.

“Let’s go Boss. We have some things to discuss.”

-

The car ride was awkward. Tense was a better word. Smyth gripped the steering wheel the whole ride back. Pete tapped away on his phone, probably letting the safe houses know that they needed to regroup and relocate.

Walking into headquarters made Patrick want to hide. Every eye turned toward him. Some not nearly as welcoming as usual. A chill ran down his spine. He had really fucked it up this time. He wouldn’t be surprised if more people defected. Patrick shook his head. He couldn’t think like that.

But he was right back where he started with territory. Except it was worse. The Snakes had inched in on the more important areas. The areas that brought in the most revenue. Legal revenue that is. The five of them stepped into the elevator. Patrick gripped the bar along the wall, refraining from hitting something. He took a deep breath.

“Alright. Start packing when we get up there. We have to move fast. I already have an idea of where to go.” He looked around them briefly to make sure they understood. They each nodded.

Smyth was the only one that followed him once they reached the floor. Patrick knew he was in for it. He chuckled to himself. It was as though he wasn’t even the boss. Smyth pretty much just told him what to do and he would execute it. What a sad excuse for a leader.

“Just let me have it. Stop fuming in silence,” Patrick snapped once the door to his office closed.

“I don’t know what you want me to say, kid. I could yell at you for going in without backup in the first place. I could yell at you for losing a crucial piece of territory. I could yell at you for even choosing this job in the first place. The list is a mile-long Trick.”

Patrick ground his teeth and ran a hand though his hair. He knew all of that. He fucked up. He just needed to hear it from someone else.

“But I’m not going to yell at you. Because I know how you work kid. You want me to tell you the things you did wrong and then tell you how to fix them. That’s not my job, it’s yours. You needa figure it out.” Patrick whirled around, glaring.

“Then why the fuck are you here? If you’re just gunna bail on me when I need you then why don’t you leave? Why don’t you—”

“Oh, grow the fuck up, Patrick!” Patrick blinked in surprise. “This was your choice! You chose the mob and guess what? Now you have to live with that choice! You can’t pick and choose when to be a leader and when you want to be a kid.” He clenched his fists. Patrick had never seen Smyth this angry.

“A weak leader means a weak gang. And when members sense weakness, they either overthrow you or defect. So, I suggest you figure it out before you die. One way or another.” Smyth spun on his heal and stormed out, limp still evident.

Patrick stood there for a while, trying to wrap his head around what had just happened. He dug his nails into his palm, composing himself. A part of him knew Smyth was right. He still felt like a kid. Who was he fooling? He was twenty-four. There was no doubt he was still a kid. Forced to grow up sooner than normal.

He moved to his desk, shifting things around, collecting papers. There was a knock at his door. He just ignored it. The knocking continued, and he ended up knocking over the lamp, sending it to the floor with a clatter.

“What,” he barked. The door creaked open and then clicked shut again. “I swear to god this better be important,” he said stiffly. He turned, coming face to face with V. She stood, arms crossed.

“Smyth called me,” she said flatly. Patrick raised an eyebrow. Why would he call her? “Told me Vinn was dead. I didn’t expect you to deal with it so quickly.” _Oh, right._ “Under normal circumstances, I might say thank you, but from the way you just bit my head off… Why not tell me what happened, and I can give you some advice.” Patrick shook his head, anger flaring.

“What would you know about it,” he snapped. Her eyes narrowed.

“Look, if you’re not going to accept help when it’s offered then you’re in for a rude awakening.”

“I don’t need to listen to you spit more bullshit at me about being a leader,” he said, turning away from her.

“Seems like you do! You’re acting like a child!” Patrick clenched his fists and ground his teeth together. He could have screamed. Patrick whirled around to face her again.

“It’s almost like I am! It’s almost like I was forced to grow up!” She took a step toward him.

“Oh, boo hoo for you! So were the rest of us!” Patrick flinched. V took a breath, calming herself. “I know your general story. You have my sympathies but that doesn’t mean you can just bail like this. It sucks for sure. But you don’t have the luxury of acting your age anymore.”

Patrick didn’t respond. Both of them were right and he knew it. But it hurt his pride. He was like a filter for Smyth. He had to start acting on his own. He slipped his hand into his pockets.

“We need to move. Our location was compromised. And I lost Pilsen.” He thought he saw a softness race across her features, but it was gone too fast.

“Well. It’ll be hard to top this place,” she said half-heartedly, nodding to the old wood that surrounded them. He didn’t disagree, the place had character and Patrick liked that. A knock came from the door.

“Come in,” he called. Pete, Joe and Andy stood in the open door. Patrick felt his shoulders relax. They hadn’t left him.

“We’re almost ready to get going, Boss,” Joe said. Patrick nodded and looked over at Pete.

“What’s the status of the safe houses? Have they been evacuated?” Pete pulled out his phone and scrolled a bit.

“Most of them, yea. I would like to request that I be allowed to check on Mana. Move her to a secure location myself.” Patrick thought for a moment. He needed her to be safe. He nodded at Pete’s request.

“Yes, go do that. Andy, Joe. You’re with me. We gotta erase any evidence that we were here.” Pete waved and hurried out. Patrick turned back to V.

“I appreciate the pep talk but let’s not forget that I’m the boss,” he joked. She rolled her eyes and smirked. Did his heart skip a beat? If it did he wouldn’t admit it.

“Whatever you say, dude.” She saluted and left. Patrick followed Joe and Andy out.

-

Pete sped toward the safehouse where he left Mana not that long ago. She was probably gunna complain, not that he could blame her. He counted more than a couple cops that he sped past but none of them bothered him. Until the last one.

He noticed the lights flashing behind him when he sped through a yellow light as it turned red. Pete cursed to himself. Probably a newbie who hasn’t had any run ins with their gang yet. He pulled into a parking lot and pulled his ID out before the cop came up to the door along with a couple hundreds. He was in a hurry.

A guy a bit younger than him came up to the door. He peaked inside the car, obviously looking for any visible drugs or weapons. Pete smiled at him.

“Can I help you, sir,” he asked politely.

“Well I pulled you over because you ran the red light back there. On top of that I clocked you going almost sixty in a thirty-five. Can I see your license and insurance please?” Pete sighed and handed him his license.

“Look. You seem new so it’s not that big of a deal. But we have an agreement with your chief. It’ll take a while to learn which cars are ours, but the Overcast do our best to follow the laws when there isn’t something horrible pending.” Pete handed him the money and waited for his license.

“Are you trying to bribe me, sir? I could arrest you for that alone.” Pete tried to not show his impatience.

“If you let me get my phone, I can call your boss right now and have him explain it.”

“No one is above the law. I’m going to need you to step out of the vehicle and keep your hands where I can see them.” Pete did not have time for this. He gripped the steering wheel to keep himself calm.

“Hey, Siri, call Sheriff.” Pete stepped out of the car while the phone rang. The cop looked furious.

“Hang it up right now. Who are you calling? You’ll have to come with me down to the station.”

_Peter? What did you need? I’m a bit busy right now._

Pete relaxed at the sheriff’s voice. He glanced to the cop that had his hand on his hip, ready to pull his gun. He still looked angry but there was recognition on his face.

“Look, one of your guys here has me on the side of the road. I just need you to tell him to let me go. I’ve got some very important things to do. Involves the safety of the city.” There was some quiet chatter from the other end before he spoke.

_This is Sheriff Manoa. Let him go and come speak to me when you return to the station. I’ll explain why. Thank you for doing your job so diligently._

The rookie slowly removed his hand from the gun at his hip. Pete kept his hands forward the whole time until he seemed to relax. Did not need to be getting shop by the police of all people. Pete thanked the sheriff and he hung up.

“What makes you so special?” He heard the guy mumble. Pete held his tongue as he watched him get back into his car. Pete shook his head and sped off toward the safe house.

-

When he pulled up to the curb, he noticed most of the cars had vacated. _At least they work quick._ That’s what he hoped was the case. Pete hurried in past the unattended front desk. He fidgeted the entire ride up the elevator. No one was around to escort him.

Which wasn’t that big of a deal normally but in this climate, didn’t spell anything good.

He knocked on Mana’s door, waited, and when there was no answer, knocked again, more urgently. Pete jiggled the handle. It was still locked so she should still be in there. It would be a waste of time for them to lock the door as they were leaving.

“Mana? You still in there?” He thought he heard someone moving around behind the door but wasn’t sure. “Come on, it’s Pete. I was here a few hours ago? Dropped you off and stuff?”

“I can’t unlock the door genius. I’m trapped remember.” He mentally face palmed. Pete had completely forgotten. He pressed his forehead against the door.

“Did anyone tell you where they were going by chance?”

“Uh, no? I thought the whole reason I was in here was because I wasn’t trusted? Actually, I didn’t even know people left,” she said. Smartass.

“Ok… well do you wear bobby pins by chance,” he asked, hopeful. He did not want to resort to trying to kick the door in or shooting the lock.

“Yea. But I doubt you can do any better than I could.” Of course she had tried to escape. A couple pins slid under the door. He picked them up and bent one open. The lock was open in less than a minute. Pete pushed the door open, hitting Mana in the process.

“Ow! Seriously?” She rubbed her head where the door had hit.

“Sorry. Why were you standing so close to the door anyway? Whatever, grab your stuff and let’s go.” She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. “What?”

“You just gunna drag me all over the damn city?” Pete rolled his eyes.

“Maybe, now let’s go,” he rushed. She sighed and grabbed the bag she had with her, all its contents untouched.

She followed closely behind him, keeping quiet. He wondered if she knew what was going on. She grew up around the mob, so he assumed this might have been a regular experience. Of course, she was like a princess in a way, being the sister of the boss.

Pete’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out as they walked up to the car. He glanced back at Mana for a moment. She didn’t seem like she was going to run so he unlocked the door for her and nodded towards the door.

“Get in.” She raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue.

“Wow I can do things on my own now?” Pete rolled his eyes before checking the message from Patrick.

“Yea. Don’t mess it up.”

The message contained a simple address followed with, _Bring her here. There’s space at the new spot. Until we can sort out other safe houses._

“You’ll be staying at our headquarters again. I’ll try to get you some free roaming privileges.”

“Whata gentleman,” she mumbled sarcastically. He glanced over at her before peeling out of the parking lot.

-

Patrick, Joe and Andy familiarized themselves with the layout of the new building. It was farther north than Patrick would have liked but it was the best they had on short notice. He had found the address in an old folder that belonged to his brother. Even now, he was still getting help.

They came across a group of guards that had worked at the other building. But they talked in hushed voices and Patrick watched as they looked over their shoulders. The three of them shared a look before he made is way over to them.

“Excuse me?” He saw the three men jump. While he hadn’t been able to catch any of their conversation, he could only assume it wasn’t favorable for him.

“Boss. What can we do for you?” Patrick shrugged.

“Guess I was just curious what you guys were talking about over here all quietly.” The three of them laughed awkwardly.

“Sorry, nothing important. Just plans to go out at some point,” one of them said. The other two nodded in agreement.

“Ok. If you’re having any problems. Come to me,” Patrick said before turning back to Joe and Andy. Patrick thought he heard some mumbling but didn’t acknowledge it.

They continued down the hallways and Patrick checked his phone again. He waited for an update from Smyth, but one never came. He must have really pissed him off this time. But Patrick wanted to apologize. He couldn’t do that when Smyth was AWOL. He trusted that he could take care of himself but he still worried.

“We’ll let you know if we see Smyth. Don’t worry too much. He always turns up when you need him.” Patrick nodded at Joe’s reassuring words.

“Call a meeting for tomorrow. There’s obviously some things that need to be discussed.”


	5. Chapter 5

Patrick pretended not to notice the significantly fewer number of people. Of course, it bothered him but that wasn’t something he could focus on. When he called this meeting a few hours ago, he had prepared himself for the worst. This wasn’t the worst. He could be alone.

The new meeting room was larger than the other one, maybe that was the reason the room seemed so empty. That’s what he tried to convince himself of anyway. He took a deep breath and stepped up to the platform.

“There’s no point in beating around the bush. I know you can all tell that people are missing.” He watched a few people look around and nod. “So, we need to regroup. I’m going to have all of you check in before we leave. Let us know what area you reside in and any ideas for fixing this problem.” He didn’t hear any immediate objections.

“The Snakes are moving in on territory faster than originally presumed. We need reinforcements. Protect your borders and do your best to keep civilians out of this mess.”

“Look, I respect you and shit, but I don’t get your mindset,” a voice called. Patrick looked around and a small circle had formed around a woman probably in her forties. “How we supposta make money to help if we don’t collect debts from when we were sellin’ drugs?” There were a couple echoes of agreement.

Patrick tapped his finger a couple times, thinking. It wasn’t an unreasonable request but most of the places they were referring to didn’t have the money to pay back the debts. He heard on of the guys shift behind him.

“I understand. Help them get a job to pay it off. And no interest. It’s going to take longer but it’s what’s right. I can help foot bills for now.” The woman nodded and signaled for him to continue. “I also need eyes and ears. I’m going to be looking for Snake hideouts and destroying them. I need backup.” A few glances were tossed around, skeptical.

“I’ll take what I can get. I won’t force anyone to do anything.” He saw a couple shoulders relax.

“You got my militia,” a younger guy said. “We been looking for reasons to beet up them Snakes. Takin’ shit that ain’t theirs. Just tell me when and where, Boss.” Patrick cracked a smile, hoping it looked appreciative and not relived. This was not a place for weakness.

“I can send help, too.” Patrick’s eyes snapped toward the back. V stood there, with the guy from the first night he went to her club by her side. “I have my fair share of trained people.” He nodded.

“We don’t need it all figured out right now. But support is the thing that we need to beat this. And maybe this is cheesy, but I’ve been known to be a cheesy guy,” a chuckled ran through the group, “As long as we support each other and stick together, we will figure it out. I will not let this die. If for no one but my brother and the things he tried to do.” The group clapped and began to discuss among themselves. Patrick turned toward his friends.

“I need you three to take down names and sections. I’m going to try calling Smyth.” The three of them nodded and made their way to the table set up at on of the side walls.

Patrick stepped out into the hallway, pulling his phone out. He scrolled until finding Smyth and tapped his name. It only rang once before going to voicemail. Great. He had either been blocked or his phone died. He bet more on the former. He leaned against the wall and ran a hand through his hair.

Patrick just hoped he didn’t drive him off.

-

A couple weeks passed with little action from either side. There was the occasional skirmish between gangs but nothing was ever lost or gained. Patrick sipped on a whiskey while reading over new intel. A new base was located but it appeared empty other than a Snake going in and out.

“Maybe they have underground walkways or something. It’s not unheard of,” Joe offered. Pete was off with Mana again and Andy was out with the militia group tracking down hideouts.

“I won’t rule it out. I’m just frustrated. Every single base we’ve found seems empty. It’s weird.” Joe nodded in agreement.

They sat in silence a bit longer. Eventually Joe stood and moved to stand behind Patrick, reading over his shoulder. Patrick knew he had read these already so why did Joe feel the need to stand _right there._

“Can I do something for you,” Patrick asked, drumming his fingers in irritation.

“You should relax or something. Why don’t we go to the shooting range?” It had been a while since he’d gone. But shooting wasn’t something that relaxed him.

“I appreciate the offer, but I need to finish reading. Besides, the range is out in the suburbs.” Joe hummed and stepped back.

“Could call V over here I guess,” he said mockingly.

“Go fuck yourself.” He hadn’t talked to her since the meeting. Maybe he should call her. Not for anything improper of course, just to talk. He couldn’t be focused on her right now anyway. Something wasn’t adding up with these bases.

Patrick leaned back and ran a hand through his hair. They were all over the place. And as far as Patrick could tell, only around the edge of the city. What was their plan? The meeting had showed him exactly where their new borders were, and it was pretty much just north of the loop, save for some stuff out west, like V’s club.

He hadn’t tried to get back to the building in Pilsen yet. When they ran a couple weeks back, they seemed to be moving an awful lot of things into the building. Patrick wondered if that was the new head of operations. Now it was out of reach. Too far out of his territory. Sending a group or even the guys would be a suicide mission. They had to take it back slowly.

A knock from the door made him look up. Joe wandered over to it hesitantly. He pulled the door open, a hand on a knife in his back pocket. The young man that offered his militia stood there, covered in blood. Patrick jumped up and rushed to him.

“What happened, Eli? Are you ok? Where’s Andy?” His body shook as he dropped his head.

“I’m so sorry. We were ambushed. Some didn’t make it—” Patrick grabbed his shoulders.

“Where. Is. Andy.” A tear slipped down his face.

“We don’t know. He ran in to save some of our guys. He told us to leave him,” he stumbled out. Patrick released him slowly. A cold fear took over his body. He had to find him.

“Where were you ambushed? I’ll go negotiate for survivors,” he said quietly. He turned to Joe. “Take him to the infirmary. Then meet me back here. We’re going to get them.” Joe nodded and helped Eli out.

Patrick clenched his fists as the door clicked shut. He would not loose Andy. He cursed under his breath and texted Pete. He then clicked on the messages he sent to Smyth. Only one text since he disappeared.

_I’m taking some time off._

Patrick had sent him brief updates but they never got a reply. He was pretty sure it was Smyth who told him that there was no time for time off when working with the mob, but Patrick wasn’t going to push him. He tapped out a quick plea for help.

_We just suffered a loss of some militia. Andy was with them and it’s unclear if he’s alive. I could use your help._

Patrick flinched at the thought. He didn’t want to think that way. He jumped slightly as the phone buzzed with a message. But the spark of hope faded quickly when he saw it was just Pete.

_Back in ten minutes._

Not that a response from Pete wasn’t a relief, but it was like he was losing a brother all over again. If Andy was gone too… he wouldn’t survive.

-

“I’m telling you. Your boss is gunna flip his shit if you bring me back with you,” Mana said as Pete blew through another almost red light.

“He can get over it. There’s more important crap to worry about. Besides, I’m sure if you tell him that your brother tried to contact you, I’m sure he’d listen.” She sighed heavily.

“Mind slowing down so you don’t kill us?” Pete shook his head. Not at a time like this.

He glanced in his rearview mirror. A car had been tailing him the past few days, and he recognized it as the cop who pulled him over a couple weeks back. He had mentioned it to Patrick, but he had been scolded and told to “play nice.”

He sighed and whipped into the parking lot of the building. Him and Mana stepped out and jogged into the building. The first floor was quiet, but Pete could tell that everyone was on edge. Suddenly, there was yelling coming from the front desk. A woman stood there with her hands planted squarely on the counter.

“Where is he? My boy didn’t come home and I ain’t leaving until I get an explanation.” Pete didn’t recognize her. Must have been a recent recruit’s family. The woman sitting at the desk glanced toward the two of them, looking for help.

This didn’t go unnoticed by the woman of course. She spun and stormed up to Mana and Pete, looking furious. Understandably so. Mana stepped closer to Pete, touching his arm.

“I know her… I would see her talking to some Snake dealers. She hadn’t been around for a while, so I assumed she died or got clean or… something.”

“You! It’s your fault he ain’t come home yet! Where is he? He ain’t done nothing!” Pete raised his hands in surrender. An effort to get her to calm down.

“Look. Why don’t you give me a name and I can talk to my boss? But we are a bit busy right now—” She slapped him. Pete blinked in surprise, suddenly starring at a wall.

“What is your problem lady,” Mana yelled at her. “I know you’re upset but fucking hell. Chill and maybe he’ll help you.” She grabbed his hand.

“You shut up little bitch. All these gangsters are good for is robbin’ kids and fucking whores,” she spat. Pete glared at her.

“Don’t talk to her like that. Give me a name. And maybe I can find your son. But if you continue to go on like this, you can just forget it.” His cheek stung. A few tears ran down her face.

“No. I wanna talk to the boss himself!” Pete scoffed.

“This ain’t retail lady. My job isn’t to make you happy. It’s to follow orders from my boss and right now, I got some pretty important ones. You walk back over to that nice lady at the desk, apologize, leave a name and phone number, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can,” he ended sarcastically.

It was her turn to blink in surprise. Pete used that opportunity to pull Mana away towards the elevator. Obviously, the woman didn’t recognize Mana, and if what she said was true, he would have to make sure she didn’t get anywhere near Patrick. Pete trusted Mana. She had given him no reason to think otherwise.

The doors to the elevator shut between them and the floor. The usual silence took over. Until Pete noticed that she hadn’t released his hand. He cleared his throat and squeezed her hand gently. She jumped and yanked her hand away. Not hard but it made him grin.

“Are you that repulsed by me,” he joked. She shook her head.

“Not at all actually.” Pete glanced over at her, a small smile sitting on her face.

He guessed they had become friends. Joking back and forth and having weirdly normal conversations. As normal as they could anyway. Politics and the like. They shared a similar music taste and had fun discussing old versus new music.

They stepped out of the elevator and hurried down the hallway. The door to Patrick’s office was cracked open slightly. Pete pushed it open to see Joe and Patrick. Patrick was drumming his fingers on the table.

“Alright, I’m here. So, what’s the plan.” Patrick opened his mouth but shut it quickly when he noticed Mana. _Here we go_. Pete thought.

“Did something happen,” he asked her. She nodded and stepped in front of Pete.

“My brother tried to contact me. If you are willing to hear me out, we could probably come up with a plan to capture him or something.” Pete looked between Mana and Patrick. He seemed to consider it for a second.

“Maybe. But we’ll handle that after we find Andy.” Mana nodded and moved toward the wall. Patrick sighed and looked between them.

“It’s just going to be us three. I’m not losing anyone else today. We are going to the base they were looking into and requesting an audience with the leader of that section. The idea is that I can buy them back. Hopefully.”

Pete and Joe nodded. But Pete wasn’t too sure how well this had been thought through.

“I know you’re worried, but are you sure it’s smart for us to go alone? What if it’s a trap or something?” Patrick thought for a moment.

“It’s a risk I have to take. What kind of leader am I if I just leave them?”

“I understand the sentiment, admire it even, but I don’t think you’re thinking rationally,” Pete said cautiously.

“Already tried. Can’t talk him out of it,” Joe said. Patrick shot a glare at Pete and he raised an eyebrow.

“Well I’m not the only one with questionable rationality. So, we do this my way, and everything will be fine.”

-

Patrick ran a hand through his hair as they made their way up to the building. He tried to ignore the splatters of blood on the pavement and pretend they were paint. Joe and Pete held their guns firmly, flanking him. He wore a bulletproof vest just in case but those didn’t always work.

He pushed open the door and stepped inside. Anyone that was in the building stopped and stared at him. Some looked on in fear, others disgust. He didn’t see any familiar faces immediately but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t.

“I’m lookin’ for whoever runs this place. They have something that belongs to me.” He looked around, and no one moved.

Patrick sighed and walked over to the receptionist. A kid. Couldn’t have been older than eighteen. What a shitty first job. Of course, this was technically Patrick’s first job too. The kid tapped his fingers nervously.

“Look kid. I won’t hurt you. Just need you to call your boss down here,” he said. He didn’t move. “Why don’t you come work for me instead? I can promise you’ll be safer.” He shook his head and started mumbling.

“Can’t. Family. Please hold on.” He picked up the phone and dialed a number.

“Th-this is the front desk… um… that boss guy is here. He wants to speak with Trip.” There was a yelling from the other side of the phone and all the blood drained from his face. _The name._ The kid had let it slip. A sector leader wasn’t as bad but could be grounds for serious maiming.

He placed the phone down and Patrick watched as his shoulders shook. He looked back at Joe and he nodded. Get the kid out. Patrick leaned in close.

“Did they threaten you,” he whispered. The boy hesitated then nodded. “Ok. You’re going to leave here with Joe. He will keep you safe. I’ll talk with you more later.”

The boy’s eyes widened, but when he realized Patrick was serious, tears began to well up. He hurried out from behind the counter. Joe grabbed his arm and looked back at Patrick.

“Be safe. Pete, don’t you dare let anything happen. All three of you better come back.” Patrick gave him a small smile.

“You too. Get out of here.” The two of them hurried out of the building like most of the others in the room. Patrick placed a hand on the gun at his side. The elevator dinged open and a group of guys strolled out. All armed but without a care in the world. Patrick glared. He couldn’t pick out the leader.

“Which one of you is Trip?” The tallest of the group stepped forward. Patrick sometimes cursed his genes.

“Where’s that punk kid? We got orders to kill em’.” None of them were Trip. They were smarter than they seemed.

“Gone. Now you have some of my guys locked up. I’m here to get them back. That’s why I need to talk to him.” The tall one scoffed.

“Yea we know why you here. But any negotiating can be done through us.” Patrick clenched his jaw.

“A nice thought but I need to see all of them before I make my offer.” The group exchanged looks, trying to determine if it was a good idea. Patrick hoped they went along with it.

The tall guy pulled out his phone and tapped out a sentence or two. Patrick assumed he was communicating with Trip. The reply was instant and a lazy but evil grin split across his face.

“We got a few of ‘em here. Why dontcha tell us which you want the most?” Patrick felt his eye twitch in annoyance. He immediately thought “Andy,” but he couldn’t say it. They wanted to find a weakness. The guy looked behind Patrick to Pete.

“This the right hand? Don’t look so scary. It’s a simple question.” It wasn’t simple and they knew it. They would most likely kill whoever he chose.

“Fine. Bring them out and I’ll tell you.”

“No names for us? Sorry, but that ain’t gunna fly pretty boy. We’ll kill them all.”

“Boss…” Pete said from behind him.

“How much do you want for all of them? A million? Two?” A smirk settled on his face and he jerked his thumb upwards. More than that. Patrick could only give up so much. He needed to hold on to some finances. He needed them to name a price so he could negotiate it down.

“Call your boss. Let me talk to him. I’m done with him being a scared little bitch.” Patrick yanked his gun out of is holster and aimed it at the tall guys head. “Think fast. Before you can’t think anymore. And I don’t miss.”

Patrick didn’t miss all the barrels that were now pointed at him. But they couldn’t kill him. If they did then Reggie would have all of their heads. He noticed movement in the corner of his eye. Pete had probably taken aim at the group.

“You’re out numbered pretty boy. And just cause we can’t kill you doesn’t mean we can’t hurt you.” A gun fired, and Patrick stumbled back at the sudden pain in his arm. Almost instantly, the guy that fired had a bullet through his head, curtesy of Pete.

“You dumbass,” Pete mumbled to him. Patrick remained standing and ignored the throbbing in his arm.

“I won’t go any higher until I see all of them alive.”

The door burst open behind them, making the group in front of them all look over. Patrick risked a glance behind him. He had to stop himself from smiling too wide.

Smyth stood there with the remaining militia group, guns drawn and looking pissed as hell. They stormed in and surrounded the group. The tall guy looked annoyed as him and his group dropped their weapons. Smyth moved in front of Patrick.

“You’ll have to forgive our manners. But we have what we came for and need to leave.”

“Boss. Relax and let’s go.” Patrick turned at Andy’s voice. He was beat up but didn’t look like any serious injuries. Patrick nodded and returned his gun to his hip.

“Move out,” he called. The militia surrounded them as they hurried out of the building and towards the waiting cars.

Patrick wouldn’t step into a car until he watched everyone leave that building alive. He owed them that much for coming to save his sorry ass.

He got more fidgety as the group poured out. Smyth was the last one out of the building. No one followed him out as he half jogged over to Patrick.

“You owe me. I was enjoying some time down south where it’s not so fucking cold in October.” Patrick tried not to laugh. He knew Smyth was being sarcastic and he would get another stern talking to. They hopped in the last car and drove back to headquarters.

-

“I can’t believe you would be so stupid! Why would you go in there with no back up? It’s like you’re trying to die!” Smyth paced the room. All four of the guys were being lectured this time.

“I mean, you did kinda bail on us,” Pete mumbled.

“Just because I wasn’t here doesn’t mean you should be stupid! It’s not my job to keep you in line, as I said before Patrick.” Patrick nodded and flinched as Mana wrapped his arm in gauze. He looked over at Andy, who he had insisted get bandaged first.

“I’m sorry I put you all through hell recently. It won’t be like this anymore.” Joe came over and slapped his back.

“We’ll hold you to it, Trick.”

“That’s all fine and great but how exactly are you going to fix this mess? You brought that kid back here and there’s a damn bounty on his head.” Mana tied off the bandage and stood.

“Let me help,” she said. Patrick raised an eyebrow at her. “I might know him. If he sees a friendly face, he could open up.” Patrick looked back at Pete.

“It’s a good idea but I don’t think he’ll have much problem talking if we promise to protect him,” Pete said. Patrick watched her clench her fists. Maybe she really did want to help.

“You said your brother tried to contact you? Did he leave a message of any kind?” She nodded and pulled her phone out. Patrick could have smacked Pete. She wasn’t supposed to have access to her phone.

She handed it to him, the voice mail open. He put it on speaker so everyone else could hear it.

_Hey baby sister. Ain’t you done hangin with the north siders? Why don’t ya pass on some info to me and maybe I’ll let you live? Let me know._

Patrick clenched his jaw. This was easily a trap. If she got anywhere close to him, she would die. Even if he didn’t totally trust her, he wouldn’t send her on a suicide mission.

“Let me meet with him.” Patrick didn’t even get a word out.

“Out of the question!” Pete moved stiffly toward her. Patrick looked between the two cautiously. “You don’t need to be a martyr. We’re professionals and can figure something else out.” Her eyes flashed in anger.

“I refuse to just sit on the sidelines! Did you forget that this is my fight, too?” Her statement wasn’t wrong. Patrick shared a look with Smyth.

“But you don’t need to fight it. I said I would keep you safe,” Pete snapped out. Patrick watched his face as the realization of what Pete had said dawned on him. Pete cleared his throat and a light blush dusted his cheeks. “We promised to keep you safe if you helped us. And you have. So just stay out of it.”

Mana stared at Pete, silently challenging. Patrick knew that Pete wasn’t one to give up when it came to what he wants. He would argue to his death. Mana glared and turned to Patrick.

“You’re the boss. You decided what happens. But this is my problem too and I shouldn’t be left out of the whole revenge process.” Patrick sighed. Pete was practically pleading him to not let her help.

“You know that your brother isn’t going to let you live right? No matter what information you give him. I won’t let you meet with him alone. It’s suicide. I’ll figure out another way you can help.” Mana clenched her fists.

“Yea. Just let the men do the work? Bull shit. Y’all can’t seem to do anything right.” She scoffed and crossed her arms. “And I thought you were supposed to be progressive.”

Patrick flinched at the accusation. Maybe she could hold her own but what if it backfired like everything else he had been doing lately? Patrick ran a hand over his face and looked between the other guys.

“Mana. Give us a second please,” Patrick said slowly. He nodded to Smyth who ushered her out the door. Once it clicked shut again, Pete spoke.

“You can’t seriously be thinking of going through with her plan?”

“You said so yourself that it was suicide,” Joe added. Patrick scratched his head then looked to Andy for his input. He just shrugged, seeming to agree with the other two.

“This might be the shot we need. If we can get him to relax around her, we can take him out. She’s the one who wants to help.” Pete laughed humorlessly.

“You’re fucking crazy if you think I’m going to let her out of my sight.” Patrick placed his hands in his pockets as calmly as he could.

“In case you weren’t listening, she did say she could take care of herself. I’m amazed she hasn’t given you the slip yet, since you’re the one so keen on breaking my rules for her.”

Pete stormed up to him, grabbing his vest and glaring. Patrick stared right back. This could easily turn into a challenge of power. While it wasn’t what he wanted, he would do what needed to be done.

“Guys—” Joe started, but Patrick shot him a silencing glance. This was between him and Pete.

“If you want to say something, say it,” Patrick recited calmly. Their faces only inches apart, he could see the worry and rage in Pete’s eyes. Patrick didn’t blame him for being worried, but his feelings were getting in the way of his better judgement.

Patrick pulled his hands out of his pockets to grab his arms. He watched as Pete clenched his jaw and blinked. No challenge today. He pushed Pete away, but not hard. Andy and Joe relaxed.

“Now. Will you help me come up with a reasonable plan to take this guy out?” Pete sighed and nodded.

“Anything, Trick.” Patrick smiled and moved to open the door. Mana was sitting on the floor while Smyth just looked tired. He looked pointedly at the chair and then back to Mana.

“You didn’t have to sit on the floor ya know,” he said. She stood and faced him.

“Well I’m basically a prisoner so I figured I shouldn’t sit on such a nice seat.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm. He held open the door as he invited her back in.

“Mana,” he said, making her face him again. She raised an eyebrow as he stuck out his hand. “Call me Patrick.” It took her a second to process what was going on, but she returned his handshake with a firm grip.

“Got a plan then, Boss,” she asked with a smile? Patrick thought for a moment.

“Not completely but I’m hoping we can work something out.”

The group sat at the meeting table and shot ideas off each other. The arguments between Mana and Pete didn’t get any better. He refused any idea that involved Mana meeting with Reggie. Patrick tried not to get between them but it was getting ridiculous.

“I swear you have a death wish. Talk about naïve,” Pete spat at her.

“Enough!” Smyth stood suddenly. Patrick raised his eyebrow but was willing to let this play out. Pete looked shocked and almost insulted that he would be interrupted by anyone but Patrick.

“Pete. You need to come off this hero, knight in shinning armor shit. She grew up in this damn business just like you did. Quite frankly I’m embarrassed for you. How can you even act like this anymore?” Smyth sighed and dropped back into the chair. Patrick watched Pete clench his jaw.

“Right. Now where were we…”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive the extended absence! In my defense, this chapter is about twice as long as normal and I hope to continue like this.

Reggie read the response from his little sister. A lazy smile rested on his face. This was the perfect opportunity to ruin that fucking kids’ life. Strangely enough, he might have even been willing to accept his sister back. That is… if she performs as he expects.

“Hey babe. Looks like you’ll finally get to see him.” He shook the woman laying next to him, her naked body looking not a day over thirty. But even then, she didn’t care if he slept with whores. She knew how much he cared for her.

She groaned and rolled over to press herself against him. She kissed her way down his body, dirty blonde hair following her.

“Think he’ll be disappointed,” She wondered. Reggie smirked.

“Do you care?” She giggled and sank beneath the covers.

“Nah.”

-

“Hey, you said you’d take me for a drink.” Pete rolled his eyes as he pulled into the police station. “If you even try to put me in witness protection, I will castrate you.”

“Calm down, princess. I just gotta talk to the chief about our plans. Don’t need anyone getting arrested unless it’s them.” Mana huffed and clenched her fists.

“You mean my brother and the Snakes right,” she asked quietly. He glanced at her. Maybe he should be more sensitive. That asshole is still her family. Pete nodded and opened the car door.

“I’ll be quick. You’re welcome to come in with me if you want. No witness protection. I swear.” He raised a hand as if to say, ‘scouts honor.’ She cracked a smile and got out of the car with him.

They walked into the station and the first person to greet them was the guy that had pulled Pete over. Pete tried not to show annoyance. This guy had been tailing him for the past couple weeks and it was bordering on suspicious.

“Can I help you,” he asked, spite dripping from his words.

“The chief in? Tell ‘em Pete has an update.” He could tell this guy was biting his tongue. Smart of him. Pete wasn’t exactly in the mood to argue. He disappeared down a hallway for a minute. When he returned, he nodded for Pete and Mana to follow him.

They stopped in front of the chief’s door and he knocked a couple times. Pete could hear the chief talking to someone on the phone, and he didn’t sound pleased. Great. Now he was going to have to play the convincing game with him.

“I’ll get you for something. No one can escape forever,” the guy mumbled. Pete turned toward him.

“You do your job well. Thanks for that. But sadly, you’re chasing the wrong guy,” he said. The guy raised his eyebrow as the chief opened the door.

“You know better than to keep me waiting, Martin,” Pete joked. The sheriff glared at him.

“I’ll take it from here officer Callaghan.” He clenched his fists and opened his mouth to speak. _This oughta be good,_ Pete thought.

“Forgive me if it’s not my place, sir, but I strongly advise against working with a criminal,” he said. Pete heard Mana chuckle beside him. If Callaghan heard, he didn’t show it.

“I understand your concern, Leo, but trust me when I say this is the best thing for the city.” He signaled for Pete and Mana to step inside. Pete nodded a good bye to the shocked officer and shut the door between them.

Mana and Pete sat in the chairs on the opposite side of the desk. The sheriff rubbed his temples as he waited for Pete to tell him their latest plot to destroy the city. Pete chuckled.

“Don’t look so worried. I’m just here to let you know about our plan to get rid of the Snakes.” He raised an eyebrow and leaned forward.

“All of them,” he asked?

“Well we’re gunna try and take out my brother.” The Shariff stared at the both of them as he registered what was being said. “My brother is the leader. Get rid of him and the Snakes will be leaderless while they rebuild. You could easily take a bunch of them down.”

Pete nodded along with Mana. He was trying to prepare a speech about why this was a good idea but he couldn’t quite read the sheriff’s feelings on the situation. He leaned back in his chair and sat silently as he thought.

“And how much shooting is this going to entail? And if you’re the sister of the leader, why should we trust you?” Mana gripped the arms of the chair she was in.

“You should trust her because we do,” Pete said flatly. “That includes the Boss.” The sheriff looked skeptical. Pete understood his thought process but that didn’t make it any less irritating.

“And the shooting? Should I be evacuating an area?” Pete sighed.

“Ideally, no. Reality is probably likely. Our goal is to not involve civilians at all.”

“That’s always the plan but it never happens. Someone is always caught in the crossfire,” the sheriff said accusingly.

“That’s why this is happening at night. Less people around. But we are sending her into Snake territory with little backup on our part. We need you and your team’s cooperation to keep her and as many people as possible safe.”

“There a reason why the Overcasts aren’t sending proper backup?” Pete heard the doubt lacing his voice. He wished he could just punch the guy and make him listen but that wouldn’t be good for their relationship.

“Our boss isn’t picky about who kills Reggie but he needs to stay behind so he doesn’t get shot. Already has an injury. And if we send too many of our guys then we could be spotted. Don’t need him pulling a gun on the little girl here.” Mana kicked him in annoyance.

The sheriff looked between them, still skeptical. He finally sighed and nodded. Pete’s shoulders relaxed. The less he had to explain the better.

“You have my support. Just let me know how many you want on duty. Time and location would also be helpful.” He handed a pad and pen to Pete who scratched out the specifics. He handed it back to the sheriff and watched as his nose scrunched.

The neighborhood wasn’t the worst but it wasn’t pretty. Some areas of Cicero were nice but people stayed away during the night. Like most places in Chicago.

“We have the disadvantage because most of these things need to be on his terms. Makes things difficult.”

“And what if your brother doesn’t show up?” A valid question. One that they hadn’t considered. What if he sent someone to pick Mana up and bring her somewhere else? Reggie wasn’t stupid. He would be right to be cautious. “Hadn’t thought of that?” Pete pulled his phone out to message Patrick about the issue.

“That’s why we come to you. We trust you to point out holes,” he said, trying to sound nonchalant.

“Why should I be trusting you to help clean up this city if you can’t even think through your plans?” Pete’s eye twitched. But before he could say anything, Mana shot up from her seat.

“Look. I grew up in this damn business. Family ties I’m afraid. But if you’re really going to give the people who are trying to _help you_ shit, then it’s time to hang up your hat. They get things done, unlike the police. I feel safer with them then I ever had in all my dealings with police.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way. You have to understand why the law isn’t very trusting of your kind.” Pete’s anger flared as he waited for him to specify that his comment was about people in the business they were. It never came. Mana had her fists balled and Pete stood, taking her arm gently.

“You don’t get to talk to her like that. And let me make something very clear,” Pete snarled at him, trying to keep his composure. “I can have you thrown out of here faster than you could say ‘sorry.’ Fix your fucking views. I could end your miserable existence.”

Pete pulled Mana out of the room, his anger threatening to make itself known. People moved out of his way and he wasn’t stopping for anything. Since running with the Overcasts, he hadn’t experienced problems with the police. But it was out of fear for what he would do rather than respect. He knew that, and it still surprised him.

“Pete slow down. I’m used to it,” Mana said, tugging him back. Pete spun to face her.

“That doesn’t make it ok! Don’t you dare let anyone treat you like that,” he said thorough grit teeth.

She stepped close to him and placed a hand on his cheek. Pete’s shoulders relaxed and he had to consciously try not to lean into her. Her brown eyes were significantly darker than his and easy to get lost in. She was so gentle, despite growing up on the wrong side of town.

“We have bigger problems to worry about. We can deal with the racist cops another time,” she said.

Pete inched toward her, not really thinking about the problems this would cause. He knew her. The past few weeks had shown him exactly what he wanted out of a partner. She was a lot like Patrick he realized. But that wasn’t what drew him to her. She was beautiful. Anyone with eyes would see that.

But she was also smart. She had a quick mouth and rarely let him get away with anything. She didn’t deserve the life she had been born into. She had made some bad choices regarding guys in the past, her ex was proof of that. And yet there was still fire in her heart that never ceased to keep pushing her forward. Mana was always looking forward. He only hoped that maybe the future she saw included him.

Pete’s forehead pressed against hers. Mana never moved away from him. Simply stood and waited. His eyes had closed. He opened them, trying to assess her feelings. Hers were still wide open. She wasn’t protesting but something wasn’t right. Pete pulled back and cleared his throat, hoping the blush on his face wasn’t visible.

“Sorry. We should get going.” He released her arm and moved to get in the car. Mana sucked in a shaky breath and headed to the other side. Pete pulled out his phone to read the reply from Patrick as he waited.

_Then we get Mana to give him incentive. No info unless he comes to get her._

_I’m heading to V’s to ask for backup._

Pete slipped his phone back in his pocket. It was a temporary answer that had its own flaws. They were assuming that Reggie cared enough about information and his sister to come personally. And that was a pretty big “if.”

“Pete,” Mana said quietly. He glanced at her sideways. “I just don’t think… _us…_ is a good idea,” she continued. He could have guessed that much. He clenched the steering wheel and started the car.

“I get it. It’s better to keep personal matters and business separate anyway.”

“Pete don’t act like this please. I like you, I just,” she pleaded. He didn’t want to hear it.

“Drop it, ok? I understand.” The rest of the car ride just filled with silence.

-

Patrick knocked on the door to the club. The cool air threatened to break through his leather jacket. Casual clothing was infinitely more comfortable. He was also less likely to be recognized. The old door swung open and the guard did a double take but stepped to the side. Patrick ginned.

“Go ahead and say what you’re thinking. I won’t be offended.” The guard shook his head but let out a deep chuckle.

“I was going to ask if you were here as a paying customer today,” he teased. Patrick blinked in surprise and tried to suppress his blush. He wasn’t exactly dressed to be an attendee. Black jeans, converse and a red shirt. Hell, he probably looked closer to a high schooler, given his height.

“V’s in her office. I’m sure she’d love the company while doing the books.” Patrick nodded and pat the guys arm ass he passed. Some beautiful girl danced about the stage but he paid her no mind.

Patrick wondered why only V seemed to distract him. It was almost frustrating. He could hardly get a sentence out in front of the person he needed to communicate business with. The guys teased him about her often enough but they were just friends.

Patrick tapped on her door a couple times. He waited but there was no reply. He leaned closer to the door, trying to hear anything going on inside. He thought he heard quiet arguing but he couldn’t be sure. He jumped as the door was flung open and Patrick was nearly run over by an angry man.

“Move it pipsqueak!” Patrick raised an eyebrow at his back but shook his head, deciding to let it go. But the man stopped and spun toward him, looking furious.

“You the worthless mobster she’s fucking these days? Step off cause that’s my woman.” He grabbed a fist full of Patrick’s shirt and jacket.

“Hey! Tony, that’s enough! I’m not seeing anyone right now, not that it’s any of your business. And you best let him go because I don’t think you want the trouble that comes with hurting him.” The larger man, Tony, shoved him back and stormed off. V sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“I’m sorry, Trick.” He stepped into her office and looked around. Nothing seemed broken.

“Am I allowed to ask what that was?” Patrick leaned against her desk. She shook her head.

“Just an ex. He doesn’t seem to understand what it means to break off an engagement.” She moved to her liquor cabinet, pulling out two glasses.

“He’s not violent, is he? Should I get someone to take care of it?” V laughed but there wasn’t any humor.

“You can’t solve all of my problems for me big guy,” she said, pouring a glass of whiskey. She didn’t answer his question. “He’s not violent but he thinks he owns me. Didn’t like that I dance for men’s pleasure. Gave me an ultimatum and I chose my job. Simple as that. He just can’t handle rejection.”

She hopped up to sit on her desk, taking a sip from her glass. A simple t-shirt and jeans. An outfit not unlike his own. He watched as her shoulders relaxed and she smiled at him.

“So. This visit business or pleasure? By the way you’re dressed I’m hoping the latter.” He laughed and rolled his eyes. She had told him last time he was here to come visit her not on business. Sadly, it wasn’t the case this time.

“Raincheck on that. I came to request help from your guys. I need backup and apparently the cops aren’t willing to be helpful.” She nodded and almost looked disappointed.

“Yea sure. I’ll give a few of them a call. When do you need them,” she asked?

“Tomorrow. Unfortunately, we have to work from Reggie’s schedule.” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“Why?”

“Because we’re using Mana to get to him. He wants information and her back. We figure this could be a good time to get him to lower his guard.” V nodded along but didn’t look completely convinced.

“Just be careful, ok?” Patrick grinned and tapped his glass against hers.

“If we go down, we’re going down swingin’.” She rolled her eyes and shoved his arm. He winced at the sudden pain it caused, the gunshot wound still being fresh. V’s eyes narrowed and she hopped off the desk.

“What happened?” Patrick bit his tongue and avoided her eyes. “Take off your jacket. Now.” When he didn’t comply, she grabbed it and shoved it off. He hissed in a breath as she jostled his arm again. Mana did a good job with bandages but they needed to be changed. He watched as her jaw clenched.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” he started. She moved quietly to pull a first aid kit out of her desk.

“Don’t start with me. Roll up your sleeve.” But Patrick was proud. He didn’t need her worrying about him.

“It’s fine. I’ll get it rewrapped when I get back to headquarters or when I get home.”

“I swear to god Patrick I will cut this shirt off you if you don’t listen to me,” she threatened. Patrick had no doubt she was serious but he couldn’t stop the chuckled that escaped.

Meeting her gaze forced him to choke back any more laughter. He adjusted his body so she could access his arm. She rolled up his sleeve gently and began unwrapping the bandage. She worked quickly and quietly. He pretended not to notice the pain from his wound. Or the pain on her face.

“You idiot,” she mumbled. The bleeding had mostly stopped but he wondered if he could even hold a gun up, much less fire it.

Her fingers brushed against his skin every now and then. He had to shut down any thoughts of her touching him anywhere else. Christ, he was in trouble. Bringing any sort of romantic relationship into this business was bad news. It was just a distraction.

If it was just sex, that was one thing. But Patrick had never been one to work like that.

She finished wrapping his arm and rolled his sleeve back down. Her hair had started to grow out. It was longer on the sides, no longer fitting the term “buzzed.” She was so close that he could smell the perfume she wore when dancing. She must have had a show today.

“So,” he started, clearing his throat. “How’s the books looking? Profits going up I hope.” She looked at him and raised an eyebrow but nodded.

“Yea. Things are great like usual. But I try not to get too cocky. Only takes one bad thing to send a business like this into the ground.” She stood next to him, picking up and finishing her drink. Patrick laughed.

“I’m sure this place would stay alive even if it was just you dancing.” He blushed as soon as the words came out of his mouth. He basically admitted that he noticed her. He dared a look at her and a small smirk sat on her face.

“I’ll take that as a compliment. Both as a business woman and a dancer. The Boss, of all people, noticed me.” She was being sarcastic but Patrick knew a teasing tone when he heard it.

“Don’t get cocky, not like I know much about dancing,” he said, chuckling nervously. V rolled her eyes and packed up the first aid box.

“While I have you here, why not tell me about how your family got stuck in this business?” Patrick thought for a moment. There wasn’t any harm in telling her.

“Uh, well, I was really young when my brother started running around with these guys. He could probably tell the story better than me. I only know general details.” She hopped onto her desk, swinging her legs slightly.

“Well Dom isn’t here anymore. May he rest in peace. But just give me your version of it,” she said. He wasn’t the best at ‘get to know you’ conversations but she seemed adamant about it.

“Alright, well. My mom died. I was seven. She got caught up in gang business and well, we had to have a closed casket memorial. According to Dom it was pretty bad.” V sat silently, nodding along. Losing parents was a common introduction story to the gangs. He wasn’t special in that regard.

“With my mother gone, my father spiraled. He drank and played around with some drugs. He stopped being a father to us. He would get angry easily and would take it out on us. Dom would take most of it. For both of us. So, when he was 19 he started running for the Overcasts. I don’t really know how he took over as the Boss but the rest is history.”

The silence didn’t last long. V pushed herself off the desk and stood in front of him. He shrugged at her. There was nothing he could do about it now. Patrick tried not to jump when she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.

“I’m sorry. That really sucks.” He considered hugging back but before he could act, she pulled away. He cleared his throat and smiled at her, hoping to lighten the mood.

“Well, what about you? Seems only fair you spill, too.” She shrugged.

“I don’t know either of my parents. My mother was sold into sex and I was an accident. At least that’s what they told me. Aged out of the system and built myself up from there. Dancing was one of the things I was good at.” There goes the light mood. He shouldn’t have asked. He opened his mouth but her hand covered it first.

“Don’t say ‘sorry.’ It’s not your fault and I can’t miss what I never had. I danced for the former owner of this club and eventually I took it from him. With the help of your brother. The rest is history,” she said with a small smile. V moved her hand away and Patrick grabbed it, holding it gently.

“I’m sorry. I know you don’t want to hear it, but I am. You came from a worse situation but you’ve made something amazing of yourself.” Her eyes watered but she blinked the tears away. V pulled back slightly but Patrick refused to let her go.

“When ever this whole mess is done, let me take you out. A proper ‘get to know you’ thing,” he said, smiling. She shook her head, trying to hide a grin.

Her perfume drifted up his nose again and he couldn’t help but lean closer. She tugged her lip between her teeth as Patrick rested his forehead against hers. His eyes closed as he leaned into her, feeling her breath against his lips. He thought he felt the briefest of touches.

The banging on the door made them jump apart. Just like they were a couple of teenagers getting caught by a parent. He was sure he was blushing and V had wrapped her arms around herself, refusing to look him in the eye. Another three quick raps on the door.

“Kid, I know you’re in there. This is not the fucking time to disappear.” Smyth sounded pissed. He had run off with out so much as a body guard. V hurried to open the door.

“Christ, this is literally the worst time for you to come over here,” Smyth scolded as he stepped inside.

“What’s the problem?” He stared at Patrick as if he had grown a second head.

“What do you mean, ‘what’s the problem?’ Are you blind? The cops aren’t willing to help us, Pete couldn’t sweet talk them, you’re hurt, Andy isn’t in the best shape, and Mana just got another demand from her brother.” Patrick and V shared a look.

“What was the demand?” Smyth shook his head.

“He refuses to show up personally unless you do,” he said. Patrick clenched his fists. While he hadn’t planned to stay behind, he knew better than to show himself. “Something feels off about this, Boss.”

Patrick agreed. But what was he supposed to do? He couldn’t threaten Mana. She was their one ticket to him. Reggie would call that bluff instantly and would know it was all a setup. He ran a hand over his face.

“Well what choice do we have? I’m fine enough to deal with this.” Smyth looked skeptical but nodded slowly.

“Trick are you fucking crazy?” He raised an eyebrow at V using a nickname. “That gunshot is not a ‘brush it off’ type of wound. If it reopens you could need a hospital.”

“I agree with her, Boss,” Smyth added slowly. “At least talk with the others about this. I ain’t gunna hold you back but try to think rationally.” He sighed and tried to move his arm around. He flinched more than a few times from the pain.

“Yea, there’s no way you can go to this meetup with that arm. You couldn’t even hold a gun,” V pointed out.

“I’ll talk it over with the other three. But I know they’ll understand when I say this might be our only chance.”

-

_“Abso-fucking-lutely not!”_

Patrick was back to arguing with Pete. Except this time, it was over his safety. Were they all blind to this opportunity? Even Mana was trying to talk him out of it.

“You’re gunna get yourself killed dude,” Joe added.

“Yea, screw Reggie’s rules,” Andy said, shifting his weight off his injured leg.

“Guys, what if this is the only time we can take a shot at him? We won’t get another opportunity like this anytime soon.”

“But it will come again. You’re in no condition to go up against my brother. It can wait until you’re healed.” Patrick ran a hand over his face. He wanted to scream at them.

“The longer we wait, the more suspicious he’ll get and the less likely he is to show up anyway. We’re doing this tomorrow. I’ll wear a bulletproof vest if you guys are so worried.” Pete ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Patrick was right, and they knew it. He didn’t want to be the thing that held them back now.

“This is stupid. Probably the most idiotic thing you’ve ever done.” Patrick took a breath to compose himself. Pete wasn’t letting up. “It’s like you don’t even care about the rest of us! What about our safety? Andy’s hurt. And what happens if you end up dying? Where does that leave us?” Patrick flinched at his harsh tone.

“I’m trying to protect everyone! We get rid of him and then we can take everything back! I can end this tomorrow and you guys seem so against it! It’s like you don’t want to end this damn war.” Patrick clenched his fists. They couldn’t talk him out of this. He’d go by himself if he had to.

Smyth reached out to grab his arm but Patrick jerked away. He was not in the mood to deal with this shit. He knew what he was doing. He needed to act. Smyth shoved him so he stumbled a bit.

“Ain’t you listening kid? It’s not happening. You don’t make executive decisions like this. You’re supposed to listen to the advice of your fucking _friends._ ” Patrick shoved him back and stormed toward the door.

“You all stay here then. I’ll handle it myself. I’ll protect you guys. You’re my friends after all.”

“Trick,” Joe called after him.

“Let him go. If he wants to die then so be it,” Pete said, loud enough for Patrick to hear even as the door shut between them.

Patrick earned more than a few looks of surprise as he hurried through the halls. He had to get out of this place. It was filled with people who didn’t trust him. People he probably couldn’t trust. His circle kept getting smaller. Reggie would have all of them in no time. He wasn’t cut out for this but now he had no choice. He had to fix the mess he created.

He shoved the front doors open and almost ran to his car. He forced himself to appear calm although it probably didn’t matter anymore. They would find a new boss by tomorrow and overthrow him. He pressed the unlock button but his car refused to open.

“ _Fuck!_ ” He threw the keys to the ground and slammed his fist onto the hood. He winced at the pain from his arm.

He didn’t care if it was stupid, he needed this to be over.

-

“What do you mean ‘no one should go after him? He’s going to get himself killed,” Mana tried to follow Patrick but Smyth and Pete refused to let her past them.

“He’ll come to his senses before tomorrow. He’s impulsive but he won’t go by himself,” Pete assured her.

“I don’t think that’s the case. He seemed pretty riled up. Put a body guard on him at least!”

“I have to agree with Mana on this one dude. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so angry and betrayed,” Joe jumped in. Pete knew Patrick better than any of them. He wasn’t stupid. Just had stupid ideas that he later realized were bad. It’s always been like that.

I heavy silence weighed on the room. They waited for Patrick to stomp back in, willing to discuss a new plan. Pete cursed under his breath and pulled out his phone. He tried calling Patrick but it went straight to voicemail. Smyth tried next but the same thing.

“Find him.” Mana shook her head at the boys and ran out the door.

Something wasn’t right with him. And how could friends just let him feel abandoned like that? They were as close as brothers. She slowed her running to a stop as she realized that she didn’t have a car to look for him. She had been riding with Pete but she doubted he wanted to cart her around anymore.

“Mana. Where are you going?” Andy came up behind her. She couldn’t tell if he was worried or not. And he never spoke much.

“I’m going to look for your boss. None of you seem worried so…” He raised an eyebrow at her.

“Of course, we’re worried. But he can handle himself.” Mana wrung her hands together and looked down the hall behind her. There was no more time to waste, even if she had to cover this whole city. Pete would be destroyed if Patrick died. She knew there was some sort of history there. Andy sighed.

“He might not look it but Patrick is the best shot out of all of us. He’s no chump in hand to hand combat either. But I still have him beat in that area,” he said, a small smile sneaking onto his face. Mana smiled when he did, she couldn’t help it.

“That’s great but I still think it’s important to find him before he does something stupid.” He nodded and shrugged.

“Need a ride?” She rolled her eyes and they hurried out to a car together. “Maybe you can tell me why Pete’s sulking.”

She blushed, thankful it wasn’t visible. How does she explain to one of his friends that she likes him but they wouldn’t work because of the business they were in? It was a literal ‘Romeo and Juliette’ scenario. And she hated that play.

“Probably because I turned him down and he didn’t give me a chance to explain why.”

“Yea, I figured it was something like that.” Andy started up the car and he pealed out of the parking lot.

“Where are we checking first?”

“His house. And try talking to Pete once he calms down. He’s a bit of a dumbass when it comes to relationships. Pining after your best friend for a couple years can do that to a guy.”

She sat quietly, considering his words. He pined after his best friend? Patrick? _Oh,_ she thought. That explains why they were so close.

“Don’t worry about it though. Patrick is straight and Pete got over it. At least as far as I can tell.”

She laughed a bit. He wasn’t prying into her reasoning, which she appreciated. Maybe he could figure it out on his own. She knew Andy was smart. He survived being a captive of her brothers’ minions after all.

“You should talk more. You’re pretty great.” He chuckled as he swerved around traffic.

“Noted.”

-

“Pete don’t stress so much. We’ll find him,” Joe said. Pete clenched the steering wheel. He was the idiot of the group. How could he have let Patrick leave like that?

“If we can’t find him, he could die. That’ll be on me. And if he’s gone, I might as well die too.”

“Way to value the rest of us,” Joe joked lightly. He understood their friendship was the longest going. He knew how Patrick had pulled him out of more than a few rough places. Both in the gangs and in his head.

“We should check the club. V probably knows something.” Joe nodded in agreement. Was this how Patrick felt when Pete wanted to bring Mana into things? Like there was a breach of an unspoken rule. Breaking open and expanding the circle without thought.

Pete knew Patrick was into her. But he thought they would screw and be done with it. He should have known better. Patrick didn’t think like that. If he was going to see someone, he was serious.

His thoughts drifted back to Mana as he sped through the streets. He was sure he noticed a couple cops but none pulled him over. She was infuriating. He could have sworn she was into him. But nope. He wasn’t good enough for her.

“Pete, you’re gunna pass it,” Joe pointed out. He shook himself out of his day dream and hit the breaks hard. Joe gripped the door as the car squealed in protest. “Geez dude, you could have jut made a U-turn,” he mumbled.

“My bad. Head was somewhere else.” They walked up to the door and knocked a few times. A familiar bouncer opened up and waved them through. Joe laughed to himself.

“Patrick always has problems when he comes here,” Pete tried not to smile at that but it was a common topic of jokes between them.

Pete looked around for V but didn’t see anything. She wasn’t on stage either so they pushed their way through the crowd. Joe lead him to a staircase and up. A simple office space surprised him, though he wasn’t sure why. The door was cracked slightly. They pushed the door open.

V turned to face them but didn’t stop whatever phone call she was in the middle of. It didn’t sound serious but sometimes people within the gangs had codes that not even the boss knew. Safer that way. She hung up a minute later and placed her hands on her hips.

“What can I do for you? Patrick was here earlier. I’m sure you all told him he was an idiot for thinking you could go through with that plan tomorrow.” Pete and Joe shared a look.

“That’s why we’re here. He won’t listen to us and now he’s gone missing. Have you seen him?” Her eyebrows pulled together in worry.

“He’s gone? I haven’t seen him since he came by to ask for my help.” She turned and grabbed a jacket. “Well you bet your ass that I’m going to help find him.” She pulled out her phone to try calling him.

“His phones off. No tracking or calls. He’s hiding,” Pete told her. V cursed and bit one of her nails.

“Well then I hope he’s bad at ‘hide and seek.’” They wanted to laugh but if he didn’t want to be found. They wouldn’t find him.

-

Patrick drove north and out of the city. It was early morning at this point and he knew they would be worried. But he had to talk to his brother. Whether he believed in an afterlife or not. He needed the peace of mind.

He pulled into the small cemetery. He always wondered why this place was open twenty-four hours. Drug deals happened here all the time. What a place to bury a brother who ran the mob.

He drove around, trying to remember how many turns it was before a short walk. He was buried next to his mother. Patrick wished he could talk to her. The closest he had to a mother figure was the bakeshop lady who sometimes gave him a muffin when he was younger.

Patrick slowed the car when he found the familiar tree. He hadn’t been here since he took over the gang. He used to sit here for hours when Dom first died.

But when he stepped out of the car, he noticed a figure. There was never anyone here at this time. All the drug deals happened farther in the back of the place. A glowing cigarette sent a chill down his spine.

“Dad?” His voice was just above a whisper but it seemed too loud in the night. He was slouched over. Flannel filled with holes.

“That you Patrick? How nice of you to visit.” His voice was scratchy and Patrick could guess where most of his money went. His father turned and he looked like he could be seventy. Patrick couldn’t look at him for long.

“Still scared of me boy? Man up would ya? As I recall, it was yous who left me to rot. That wasn’t nice.” He lifted the cigarette and walked toward him. Patrick froze and waited for the burning.

“Speak you fucking waste of space!” He flinched at the harshness. He hadn’t seen his father is years and he was still hateful. The streetlight flickered above them.

“Why are you here if you hate us both so much. Leave us in peace. Mom would hate what you’ve become.” He cackled and took a drag.

“How is the bitch anyway?” Patrick ground his teeth together. Was he so delusional that he forgot she died?

“She’s still dead. How high are you that you forget that?” He laughed some more and it turned into a coughing fit.

“You’re in for a rude awakening boy. Watch who you talkin to,” he said before taking a swing at him. He was slower than when they were kids. Patrick could easily take him down now, despite being shorter by more than a few inches.

He kept after him, his swings sloppy. Patrick was able to dodge most of them but hissed when the one that did land, hit his bad arm. It made him stumble and suddenly he didn’t have the upper hand. His father swung repeatedly, making him worry that the wound would reopen.

“Still running with those thugs? Getting hurt? Good, you deserve it!” Patrick jerked his leg out to kick him away. He dropped his cigarette and it landed on his leg. He hissed and grabbed at his leg, shaking away thoughts of the past.

“Come visit your old man once in a while. Could really use the company,” he sneered before stumbling away. Patrick panted and gripped his arm. He could feel the warmth and knew he would need to have it stitched up.

He had no idea what his father was doing here. He seemed to hate his mother just as much as them now. Patrick was amazed he was still alive and not in jail. That man tore apart what was left of their family and he knew that he shouldn’t care. As horrible as he was, he was still his father and a bit of him ached.

“Mom, why did you have to die? Were you fixing your mess… or his?” He turned toward his brothers grave. The short twenty-seven-year life span made him angry. He deserved so much more than what he got. “I miss you bro. I could really use your advice. But I know I’m going to end this. I promise.”

-

Pete got more anxious every hour that passed. None of them could locate Patrick. V had spent last night and all morning with them looking. She seemed to really care about him. Joe and Andy ended up passing out on a couple of the couches.

Not at his house. Not at his favorite bar. Not at his favorite pizza place. Not wandering the museums. Not even visiting businesses.

Mana wandered in, giving a nod to Smyth and V who talked quietly at the table. Pete redirected his attention back out the window. She had become one of them. She was in on the secrets and plans. Patrick trusted her with more things now. That didn’t make things any less awkward. She walked up and sat on Patrick’s desk.

“Maybe he left the city entirely?” Pete glanced at her. She was smiling gently at him and damn his heart for skipping a beat.

“If that’s the case then I hope he stays away. At least for tonight.” She nodded.

“But if he doesn’t show up before the scheduled meeting time, shouldn’t we be scouting the spot we’re supposed to meet,” she pointed out. She was right. Pete and the guys would have to go pick up his sorry ass. And it wasn’t safe to be in the area when bailing on a deal.

“Yea. The guys and I will go grab him,” he said. He thought he heard her sigh in annoyance but she didn’t push the issue.

“Pete, about earlier,” Mana started. He turned toward her slightly. _This oughta be good._ “I know you’re hurt and I’m sorry. I just want to make it clear that I do like you.”

“But,” he questioned?

“We’re from the opposite sides of town. My brother is a monster and you… You are part of one of, if not the scariest mob militias in the city. And it’s only three of you! There’s a laundry list of reasons why we don’t work. And I’m sure you know that relationships in this business only cause problems.” She paused, waiting for him to say something. “If the situation was different, I’d love to go out.”

“But it’s not different. This is the life we have. And in this life, I might lose my best friend tonight. So, forgive me if this isn’t really high on my list of problems right now,” he said coldly. He turned and headed toward the door. “I’m going to look some more. Call if he turns up.”

-

The sun had disappeared a while ago and Patrick glanced at his watch, sitting in a corner booth in a bar. He thought about turning his phone back on but he didn’t need the lecture from Pete.

This was something he had to do. He shifted uncomfortably, shirt slightly too tight due to the bulletproof vest he wore. The waitress came over and handed him a beer. He raised an eyebrow in question. He hadn’t ordered anything except some food.

“It’s on the house. From the manager.” Patrick looked behind her and saw a familiar guy standing there. He hadn’t interacted with him much but never questioned his authority. At least as far as he knew.

“Well thanks. How late are you guys open tonight,” he asked? Maybe he could get them to clear out before everything went to hell. She thought for a moment.

“One I think.” Patrick nodded.

“If you guys can afford it, it’d be best if you closed at midnight. Let the manager know.” The waitress looked skeptical but hurried back to her boss anyway. He observed the interaction. The manager raised an eyebrow and glanced at him, then nodded.

If only Patrick could get other places in the area to do that. This meeting was at two in the morning. Hopefully, no civilians would be out and about. Ten thirty. How was he going to pass the time? He might have considered going to see V again but she would try to stop him from doing the meeting.

He also considered sleeping. But he didn’t trust anyone enough to not stab him in the back. Literally.

-

The group got more restless as the clock ticked another minute closer. They would need to leave soon. Pete bounced his leg, much to the annoyance of the other guys.

“I’m going to strangle you if you don’t knock it off,” Joe threatened.

“I could say the same thing about your finger tapping,” he shot back. Mana sat next to V who was annoyed at the bickering more than anything.

“I’ll strangle you both if you don’t stop arguing and call Patrick again. If we’re going to cut him off then we need to leave. It’s already one.” The two boys glared at each other but surrendered to the more pressing issue.

Joe pulled out his phone and calling first. He prepared to hang up the phone but shot out of his seat as it continued to ring.

“His phone is back on! Track it down!” Andy jumped out of his seat and crowded around Pete who had turned on an app for tracking. It had been designed specifically for them. The idea was that the phones wouldn’t be turned off. Pete would have to talk to the friend that made it to change a few things.

Joe left a shot voice mail about how Patrick better not do anything stupid, before joining the group around Pete. The two girls exchanged a glance as they waited for the locator to ping his location. They would have to rush out before the guys could stop them.

Smyth stood slightly off to the side, observing to worried group. None of them were cut out for this business. He was amazing they got anything done at all, especially under Patrick’s rule. But the trio from hell was a scary group he would admit.

Pete’s phone dropped a beacon where it had found Patrick’s phone. V knew that area rather well and could guess which bar he was at. But he wouldn’t be there for long. And she wasn’t sure if he planned to walk or drive. The two girls sprinted out of the room, much to the surprise and worry of the rest of them.

“Hey! Get back here,” Pete called. But they were long gone. All the guys could do was follow them.

-

Patrick knew the group was going to show up any second. He wasn’t backing out of his plan but he knew it would be best with some back up. He ran a hand over the gun that sat on his hip. He wasn’t a lousy shot with his injured arm but it certainly wasn’t accurate.

He had been wandering around to different businesses in the area, trying to get them to go home before the fighting started. He succeeded a couple times, but some of them were on Snake territory and threatened to kill him. He knew that none of them would but he didn’t want to take a chance.

He was heading back to his car when a couple of guys in all black clothing came up to him. There were no defining tattoos visible but that didn’t mean they didn’t have snakes poking out of their collar.

“Can I help you two,” he asked cautiously.

“Yea, the word is you supposed to be meetin’ with the boss tonight? We just here to escort you.” If Patrick went with them, he would die. They wouldn’t bring him anywhere close to Reggie. Maybe he got over his pride and sent them, to kill him instead. Patrick reached for the gun at his side and the two men chuckled.

“I’m insulted he don’t trust us,” the other guy said.

“What do you want?” The first guy smirked and held his hands up.

“Don’t shoot the messenger. Just a demand from the Boss.” Patrick glared. What more could that guy want? “I’m afraid I’m gunna have to take that gun from you. No weapons. Don’t get your panties in a bunch, we won’t have them either.”

“Like hell I’d buy that bullshit. Tell Reggie, ‘tough shit.’” The two guys shared a look and shrugged.

“Your funeral.” Then they left. Hopped into a van he hadn’t noticed before.

Reggie had to have known that was a pointless demand. There’s no way he would be that stupid. Patrick allowed his shoulders to relax as he continued to where he parked his car. He knew he needed to be getting to the meeting place.

But something wasn’t sitting right, thought he couldn’t quite pinpoint what.

The walk wasn’t long but in the middle of the night, seconds slowed to minutes. Being aware of every slight rustle of leaves or dog barking wasn’t exactly the most encouraging feeling. By the time he got to his car, he had freaked himself out. Almost to the point of worrying that Reggie was going to jump out of the bushes.

“Get a hold of yourself, Patrick. You have shit to do,” he mumbled to himself.

He hardly had time to pull out of the parking lot before a line of cars was squealing to cut him off. He slammed on the breaks and cursed. He reached for his gun. God, he hated when his worries were right.

Patrick scrambled out of the car, crouching down behind the open door. This would do next to nothing if they had machine guns, but it was the best he had. He heard car doors slam and footsteps pounding against pavement. He cocked the pistol and jumped up, aiming at whoever was closest.

“Wait! Don’t shoot! Trick!” His finger froze over the trigger, eyes wide at the group of both angry and worried faces in front of him. He knew they would come for him eventually. He just didn’t expect it to be so soon.

“Guys? What are you doing here?” Patrick lowered his gun, looking between the three guys. Pete looked both livid and relieved. Joe and Andy both seemed relieved but were waiting for Pete to yell at him.

But before he could get a word out, a girl stormed past them, shoving them to the side. V all but stomped up to him. He couldn’t tell if there were tears in her eyes and he didn’t have time to look closer. Her palm connected with his face and he tried to not stumble from surprise.

“You fucking idiot! Why would you go off on your own?” Her voice cracked slightly.

“I had to go through with this. It’s our only shot at him,” He replied, rubbing his face gently. V fumed and ran a hand through her hair. Pete stepped up behind her, resting a hand on her shoulder. She shook her head in disbelief and stepped to the side.

“I honestly wish I could slap you too. This has got to be the dumbest thing you’ve ever done,” Pete scolded.

“It was our only—”

“Bullshit! We told you we’d figure out another way!” Pete grabbed his shoulders, shaking him slightly. Patrick blinked in surprise, not expecting him to yell. “You have all of us, dude. You don’t need to do things by yourself. And when we say something is a bad idea, it’s a bad idea.”

Patrick looked behind them to Smyth, who stood with his arms crossed. Patrick knew he wanted to say something. But he was probably deciding whether to address him like a child or the boss. Mana stood next to him, waiting patiently for his scolding from Pete to be over.

“You’re supposed to trust us, Trick. We would never back out on you unless it’s something really dumb. Like you insisting that this will be our only chance to get Reggie,” Joe pointed out.

Patrick clenched his fists. Maybe he was stupid. But at least it would protect everyone else.

“Let’s get back to headquarters. Or better yet, just go home,” Mana said.

Smyth opened his mouth but turned around as dark cars pulled into the lot. A base line pounded through the car walls. Pete, Joe and Andy surrounded Patrick, readying their guns. The cars stopped and Snakes poured out of them. Patrick knew he wasn’t late. What on earth were they doing here?

Reggie wandered lazily to the front of the group with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. _Could he be any more cliché?_ Patrick wondered. V had paced herself in front of Mana and Smyth in front of her, much to her annoyance. Patrick assumed she had never called her guys when everyone had insisted the idea was dumb.

They were cornered and Patrick only had himself to blame.

“A shame you turned my request down. We woulda had a much more civil conversation,” he said. This was exactly what he wanted and Patrick knew it. “But I hafta say, little sis. I’m hurt. Not that I expected any more from you.”

“You’re a monster! You hurt people and I want no part of it,” she yelled. He scoffed at her.

“And these shits are better than me?” Patrick clenched his jaw and pushed through his friends turned guards. Pete mumbled whispered his name in warning but Patrick ignored him. Reggie raised his eyebrows and smirked.

“You ain’t exactly in a negotiating position, boy.” Patrick reached for his gun but heard more than a few click in response. “I’d rethink that move,” he said, nodding to Patrick’s right. Smyth stood in front of V and Mana who held each other. But neither showed fear even with pistols and rifles pointed at them.

Patrick oved his hands up and away from his weapon. He needed to make sure they were safe before anything else. If Mana got hurt, Pete would never forgive him. If V got hurt, he may as well never look at her again. Smyth was willing to die for them, but he had to make sure one of his brothers’ best friends didn’t have to take care of things anymore.

“So, if you knew you weren’t getting anything out of this meeting, why’re you here?” Reggie shrugged nonchalantly.

“Cause if you ain’t gunna show up, I can’t destroy you.” He heard three clicks behind him. He guessed that the guys had aimed at the mob boss. “Restrain your lackeys’ would ya? I just wanna have a convo.”

“Forgive me if I don’t trust you,” Patrick spat back. His eyes flicked over to the group of three. Smyth had a hand on his gun and he had a shot. But if he fired, V and Mana would surly die.

Reggie shrugged and pulled out his phone. He tapped a few times and then slipped it back into his pocket. He then asked one of the guys standing next to him for a lighter. He blew smoke into the air as a door slammed and another person walked over to them.

They wore a hoodie but their walk seemed more feminine. They kept their head down. Her hips swayed and her curly blond hair slipped out of the hood. She stopped next to Reggie and leaned up to kiss him. He wrapped an arm around her.

“Little boy, I want you to meet my new wife. Go ahead and take that hoodie off babe.” The woman chuckled, low and seductive. _What’s the point of this?_ Patrick wondered. Then he froze.

Her hair flowed down her back as she shook it out of the hood. The street lights illuminated her familiar face, though she looked older than he remembered. She shared the same face as his brother. She smiled almost sweetly at him. But there was no love there. Patrick wanted to reach for the woman he thought had been dead for so long.

“Mom.”


End file.
